Networking...at Work

I learned an important lesson yesterday, my first day back in the office.

Never underestimate the power of a good, 5-10 minute cubeside chat.

With my ability to see the computer limited to 20-30 minute stints, you better believe I'm not going to 'waste' my time at work by just twiddling my thumbs during my eye-rest periods.

So, I went around to all of my most important constituents and caught up for 5 minutes. Five minutes is long enough to reconnect but not so long as to completely derail the other person. And before you do more than say 'hello', you ask their permission to interrupt them.

Here are my top 5, 5-minute conversations:

They all start out: "Hey! How are you? Do you have a couple minutes?"

1. Anything been going on since last week when I left for eye surgery?

2. What did you do this past weekend?

3. What are you doing this coming weekend?

4. How is your pet / family / hobby going?

5. I love your hair / outfit / shoes - did you change something?

And that, my friends, is one way to win friends and influence people.