Jose Anes has an excellent article on providing references. While reading his article, I remembered all the times when people called me for references. Don't you just hate it when someone only calls you when they need something? I haven't heard from Blue in years. Then ring, ring ring. It's Blue on the phone. A little small talk to act like we are catching up. Blue sheepishly asks if he can give my name as a reference. I say "no problem, have a nice life". I hang up. Now I'm annoyed.
Moral of the story: Stay in touch with people no matter how much life gets in the way. You never know when you might need a favor.
I have a contact management program that is phenomenal in allowing me to stay in touch with people. It lets me run a report of who I haven't spoken to in 30, 60, 90, 365 days. I call people and ask how they're doing, the kids, life, family, yada yada yada. When finished I jot down a few notes about our conversation in the contact manager. This allows me to have an excellent memory for the next time I talk to the person. I do this several times a week. That may be a bit much. I recommend reaching out to a few people in your network at least once a week, 30-45 minutes. It's part of making donations into the Good Will Bank.
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care" - Zig Ziglar
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