SUMMARY POINTS
Between all the craziness at work and the never-ending chaos of your personal life, you don’t have much time or energy to maintain any more relationships than what you already have to deal with day in and day out - especially with the PITA coworkers.
Yet, you know that keeping in touch with key business contacts is becoming more of a necessity than ever, especially when there are big effin’ red flags of upcoming layoffs. However, maintaining business relationships isn’t just for when you’re job-hunting during layoff periods. It’s also for when you need a referral for something or maybe, advice and recommendations.
As great as Google is for searching and finding all sorts of shit. It can’t replace the true expertise and real-world insight of a human who has direct experience or know-how in that area.
This is why maintaining and staying in touch with your contacts is critical. It’s a resource that you can tap into when you need advice, direction, support, etc. But, it’s not like you can just hit it up anytime like a vending machine.
The value you get from your network will only be as good as what you put into it. When you neglect it, it won’t do shit for you. But when you put some effort into it, it will provide returns in the future.
The problem is that your network of business contacts is huge and there are a lot of contacts that you haven’t interacted with in years and some that you don’t even know how you got connected with. It’s unrealistic that you can keep all of your contact relationships up-to-date.
Yet, you know that keeping in touch with key business contacts is becoming more of a necessity than ever, especially when there are big effin’ red flags of upcoming layoffs. However, maintaining business relationships isn’t just for when you’re job-hunting during layoff periods. It’s also for when you need a referral for something or maybe, advice and recommendations.
As great as Google is for searching and finding all sorts of shit. It can’t replace the true expertise and real-world insight of a human who has direct experience or know-how in that area.
This is why maintaining and staying in touch with your contacts is critical. It’s a resource that you can tap into when you need advice, direction, support, etc. But, it’s not like you can just hit it up anytime like a vending machine.
The value you get from your network will only be as good as what you put into it. When you neglect it, it won’t do shit for you. But when you put some effort into it, it will provide returns in the future.
The problem is that your network of business contacts is huge and there are a lot of contacts that you haven’t interacted with in years and some that you don’t even know how you got connected with. It’s unrealistic that you can keep all of your contact relationships up-to-date.
How LinkedIn Connections Got Out Of Hand
Way back when social media was an emerging thing, people often looked at certain metrics to measure popularity - whether it was view count, number of comments, followers, subscribers, likes, etc.
And human nature being what it is, lots of people use these metrics to rate, rank and prioritize things. In general, the higher the count, the better it is. This was especially true with how many friends, followers and/or connections you had on social media. It wasn’t about making real connections. It was all about quantity over quality. This was like a high school popularity contest all over again, only in a digitized and exponential way.
This kind of high count mentality carried over into other social networks, namely LinkedIn. This business network took that high count value and hyped it up like crazy. Every email, message and notification was pushing you to make more connections to more people to drive activity. And, it worked.
The end result was that a lot of people had thousands of connections with people that they didn’t know and haven’t met or interacted with. It was a giant mile-wide lake of contacts that was only an inch deep in terms of relationship value.
These shallow relationships don’t provide any meaningful value to anyone other than the platform provider for advertising and data monetization purposes and users who were chasing the vanity metric of high counts.
This kind of network only looked great superficially by the numbers. However, in reality, the quality sucked like shitty office coffee. Even for volume users in sales/business development roles and job seekers, the high number of weak connections didn’t yield any consistently strong results.
This doesn’t matter to LinkedIn (or any social platform for that matter). What’s important for them is breadth over depth.
And human nature being what it is, lots of people use these metrics to rate, rank and prioritize things. In general, the higher the count, the better it is. This was especially true with how many friends, followers and/or connections you had on social media. It wasn’t about making real connections. It was all about quantity over quality. This was like a high school popularity contest all over again, only in a digitized and exponential way.
This kind of high count mentality carried over into other social networks, namely LinkedIn. This business network took that high count value and hyped it up like crazy. Every email, message and notification was pushing you to make more connections to more people to drive activity. And, it worked.
The end result was that a lot of people had thousands of connections with people that they didn’t know and haven’t met or interacted with. It was a giant mile-wide lake of contacts that was only an inch deep in terms of relationship value.
These shallow relationships don’t provide any meaningful value to anyone other than the platform provider for advertising and data monetization purposes and users who were chasing the vanity metric of high counts.
This kind of network only looked great superficially by the numbers. However, in reality, the quality sucked like shitty office coffee. Even for volume users in sales/business development roles and job seekers, the high number of weak connections didn’t yield any consistently strong results.
This doesn’t matter to LinkedIn (or any social platform for that matter). What’s important for them is breadth over depth.
What Is the Ideal Number Of Connections?
Many people look for an exact calculation, target or discrete number when trying to figure something out. It’s all part of human nature to want to have clarity and no confusion.
But like with many things in life, there is no “one size fits all” here. No surprise.
There is no exact number of connections you should have. However, this study from the IBM Research Center in San Jose attempts to analyze the complex business ecosystem of organizations, connections and the market. It mentions things like clustered connections and the impact of business in the marketplace. And guess what? Size isn’t the main factor.
While there is no exact number of business connections you should have, there is a general range that will work for most people. The ideal range of connections most people should aim for is between 300 to 500 max. The latest LinkedIn stats state that the average number of connections is between 500 to 1,000. That’s a lot of people.
We’d guess that most people don’t have close business relationships with over 500 people. With exceptions for Fortune 100 CEOs, most people don’t and can’t actively manage that many connections.
What you should target is what you can manage on a quarterly basis. Meaning, if you had to have a small interaction in some way with 25% of your contacts each quarter, how many contacts would this be?
How many contacts can you consistently say hi to, drop a note, give a thumbs up, like their post, etc. each quarter?
Use this quarterly figure and then multiply it by four to get your final number of contacts. This will mean that you’ll be able to consistently reach out to all of your contacts once a year and keep your head above water.
That’s the ideal number of contacts you should have. If you have more than that, which most people do, then you’ll need to whittle down that list.
But like with many things in life, there is no “one size fits all” here. No surprise.
There is no exact number of connections you should have. However, this study from the IBM Research Center in San Jose attempts to analyze the complex business ecosystem of organizations, connections and the market. It mentions things like clustered connections and the impact of business in the marketplace. And guess what? Size isn’t the main factor.
While there is no exact number of business connections you should have, there is a general range that will work for most people. The ideal range of connections most people should aim for is between 300 to 500 max. The latest LinkedIn stats state that the average number of connections is between 500 to 1,000. That’s a lot of people.
We’d guess that most people don’t have close business relationships with over 500 people. With exceptions for Fortune 100 CEOs, most people don’t and can’t actively manage that many connections.
What you should target is what you can manage on a quarterly basis. Meaning, if you had to have a small interaction in some way with 25% of your contacts each quarter, how many contacts would this be?
How many contacts can you consistently say hi to, drop a note, give a thumbs up, like their post, etc. each quarter?
Use this quarterly figure and then multiply it by four to get your final number of contacts. This will mean that you’ll be able to consistently reach out to all of your contacts once a year and keep your head above water.
That’s the ideal number of contacts you should have. If you have more than that, which most people do, then you’ll need to whittle down that list.
Use “Less Is More” For Your Network
As corporate desk jockeys, we are constantly networking and establishing connections with business contacts, whether it’s clients, colleagues, or even potential employers. These connections never go away because in a digital world, information is always archived.
The issue is that it becomes harder to stay in touch with everyone in your network as it grows beyond a few hundred people. When you have less than a hundred contacts, it’s fairly easy to keep tabs on your contacts. However, once you get past one hundred contacts, it gets more difficult to keep all of the connections fresh.
Nobody has an extra 3 hours in their evening to dedicate to reaching out to contacts. We all need unplugged evenings to digitally detox and relax. It’s one of the best ways to manage work stress.
If you look at your entire network of contacts, there’s a good chance that the 80-20 rule applies. Meaning, about 80% of your opportunities, leads, advice, recommendations, etc come from about 20% of your closest contacts. The other 80% of your contacts don’t provide much value, if at all.
So, what you gotta do is to cut back on the number of contacts to a more manageable level - a level where you can really give and get value.
Here are a few tips and pointers on identifying and keeping only the most ideal contacts while eliminating the useless ones.
The issue is that it becomes harder to stay in touch with everyone in your network as it grows beyond a few hundred people. When you have less than a hundred contacts, it’s fairly easy to keep tabs on your contacts. However, once you get past one hundred contacts, it gets more difficult to keep all of the connections fresh.
Nobody has an extra 3 hours in their evening to dedicate to reaching out to contacts. We all need unplugged evenings to digitally detox and relax. It’s one of the best ways to manage work stress.
If you look at your entire network of contacts, there’s a good chance that the 80-20 rule applies. Meaning, about 80% of your opportunities, leads, advice, recommendations, etc come from about 20% of your closest contacts. The other 80% of your contacts don’t provide much value, if at all.
So, what you gotta do is to cut back on the number of contacts to a more manageable level - a level where you can really give and get value.
Here are a few tips and pointers on identifying and keeping only the most ideal contacts while eliminating the useless ones.
Keep Current Coworkers
This is the most obvious one. If you have active connections with coworkers in your company, especially the ones that you work with, these are the ones that you want to keep.
The exception to this is when you get those awkward connection requests from your fellow PITA coworkers. You can’t decline but at the same time, you can’t stand them. So, if you must accept, do so and then, ignore the connection.
The exception to this is when you get those awkward connection requests from your fellow PITA coworkers. You can’t decline but at the same time, you can’t stand them. So, if you must accept, do so and then, ignore the connection.
Ditch Conference Event One-Timers
Whenever you attend an industry conference or a business happy hour event, there will always be that one person who wants to connect with everyone at the event. You get the connection request. Every. Damn. Time.
Chances are that you will never see them again. So, ignore these kinds of requests so that you can stop the inflow of useless low-value connections and minimize the amount of bullshit spam that you’ll get.
Chances are that you will never see them again. So, ignore these kinds of requests so that you can stop the inflow of useless low-value connections and minimize the amount of bullshit spam that you’ll get.
Keep Industry Leaders, Movers & Shakers
Every once in a while, you may have the opportunity to meet a key industry executive, media reporter, expert or leader in the industry. These folks are deeply entrenched in the industry and many look to these people for advice, recommendations and guidance.
These are high-value connections that can be incredibly valuable, unlike some of the fucking clueless executives that you know. The key thing here is that you don’t want to be a one-timer leech like the ones above. For these high-value connections, you gotta provide consistent value to them to ensure that your connection to them doesn’t get marked as an “ignore”.
These are high-value connections that can be incredibly valuable, unlike some of the fucking clueless executives that you know. The key thing here is that you don’t want to be a one-timer leech like the ones above. For these high-value connections, you gotta provide consistent value to them to ensure that your connection to them doesn’t get marked as an “ignore”.
Ditch Perpetual Network MLMers
Every social network is a prime platform for pyramid schemes. It allows people in the “multi-level marketing” world to spam tons of folks with get-rich-quick schemes, overpriced health supplements, weight loss products, etc for pennies.
If you are connected to any of these MLMers, delete them from your network - today. They don’t add any value to your career or network, especially when you’re trying to leave a toxic workplace.
If you are connected to any of these MLMers, delete them from your network - today. They don’t add any value to your career or network, especially when you’re trying to leave a toxic workplace.
Keep Influential Former Coworkers
It’s common to change jobs or industries several times in a long career. During your stints at each chapter, you will develop relationships with influential people. These are the folks that you know kick ass and have significant influence.
When you move on to other opportunities, you’ll want to keep these relationships going. So, be sure to drop them a note every now and then. It’ll only take a few minutes and it’ll pay off in the long run.
When you move on to other opportunities, you’ll want to keep these relationships going. So, be sure to drop them a note every now and then. It’ll only take a few minutes and it’ll pay off in the long run.
Ditch Slackers & Moochers
At the other end of the spectrum, there are also slackers that don’t do shit. These peeps aren’t even at the level of quiet quitting. They do even less. Even remote workers that coffee badge into work once in a while get more shit done.
You don’t want to be associated with these losers. Don’t accept their connection requests and if you are already connected with them, drop the connection and ignore them.
You don’t want to be associated with these losers. Don’t accept their connection requests and if you are already connected with them, drop the connection and ignore them.
Keep Rising Industry Stars
In pro sports, a lot of people will spotlight the current superstars. All eyes are on them and justifiably so. But they weren’t superstars at the start. Even Michael Jordan and Tom Brady were newbie rookies when they first started.
The same thing applies to the business world. Dudes like Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc all started from modest positions and were rising stars. These guys didn’t fuck around but got shit done. Now, you may not have these kinds of superstars, but you most certainly have a few rising stars in your network.
The same thing applies to the business world. Dudes like Warren Buffet, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, etc all started from modest positions and were rising stars. These guys didn’t fuck around but got shit done. Now, you may not have these kinds of superstars, but you most certainly have a few rising stars in your network.
Ditch Casual Non-Business Contacts
It’s mind-boggling that some people don’t get that LinkedIn is a business network and not a dating or social network. There are countless face-palm moments where you see someone doing something so fucking stupid (like asking for nooner sex breaks) that it’s shocking.
Lose these contacts and swipe left on these connections. This is a business network for your job and career, not a platform for baby showers, politics and office dating.
Lose these contacts and swipe left on these connections. This is a business network for your job and career, not a platform for baby showers, politics and office dating.
A Smaller But Stronger Network Is Better
As our professional digitized network grows into the thousands, you have to start questioning whether or not all of those contacts are really worth keeping. The only relationships that are worthwhile are the ones where you can give and receive value.
It’s time to get in the zone and clean house. It’s time to cut loose all of those connections that are no longer relevant and/or valuable. So next time you’re deleting the digital clutter of old chats and contacts on your phone, do the same with your LinkedIn contacts.
It’s time to simplify and reduce things to a more manageable level.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]
It’s time to get in the zone and clean house. It’s time to cut loose all of those connections that are no longer relevant and/or valuable. So next time you’re deleting the digital clutter of old chats and contacts on your phone, do the same with your LinkedIn contacts.
It’s time to simplify and reduce things to a more manageable level.
Feel Better,
[Cubicle|Therapy]