WHEN I WAS young and just starting out in my career, one of the networking principles I followed was the common advice of “introduce two people every week.” So every week, I dutifully fired up my computer and typed out an email introduction to two people I thought could benefit from knowing each other.
A few weeks later, after introducing a friend of mine to a fairly well-known author whom I’d collaborated with, I got an email back from the author. His message was short, but it cut to the bone: “Not cool. Please reach out first for permission to share my contact information.” Without checking with him first, I’d given this new person permission to contact him whenever and forever.
When it comes to building your network, introductions play an important…
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Harvard Business Review Special Issues (Digital) - 1 Issue, Fall 2022