Prioritize the Business Relationships That Matter Most

With success comes many things — including a much larger business network.

How can you possibly keep in contact with everyone, let alone respond to their requests? Apply Pareto’s 80/20 rule: Think about your most important relationships, and then highlight the top 20% of them.

These are the people you should spend 80% of your time, energy and resources with.

Proactively set up regular lunch dates, walk-and-talks, coffees and face-to-face meetings.

Get creative — commute to work together, take up a shared hobby or interest, or create a peer support group. For second-tier contacts, consider organizing a social event two or three times a year to keep in touch.

This 80/20 system allows you to continue to nurture and protect your relational ecosystem — which is the greatest determiner of your personal happiness and professional success going forward.

(Adapted from “How the Over-Networked Can Manage Their Contacts,” by Matt Bird)