“tipping the scales tuesday” at the LA area chamber’s referral breakfast involved growing your network by taking time to think about who you know, who they might know, and who you want to know, getting them all on a list, and taking action toward connecting with these people. the idea is simple, you make a list of people in your network you’d like to connect with in the next month, and then a list of people you haven’t met yet, that you’d like to connect with in the next 1-3 months. the list starts with names, but as you move into areas involving people you don’t yet know, you can come up with all kinds of avenues to tap into.

i worked with walt whitney of CPEhr to build our lists. here’s what we came up with [without naming any names].

people you know that you want to connect with:
– favorite clients
– friends & regular network contacts
– old friends you’ve found on social media networks who are up to something new
– former colleagues & co-workers

people you know of that you’d like to meet in the next few months:
– people you’ve met while networking that haven’t gotten enough face-time :: set up a meeting
– ask favorite clients & former colleagues for referrals :: good people will know more good people
– members of your professional organizations :: connect with your fellow members
– reach out to industry partners :: build your network through strategic partnerships
– esteemed colleagues :: compliment someone’s work you admire and ask them about it
– upcoming conferences :: research who’s going and make a list of who you’d like to meet
– upcoming mixers :: if you can get a list of attendees, email ahead and plan to meet

and speaking of upcoming mixers, don’t forget about our biznik happy hour tomorrow night.