Social Post October 08, 2015 at 02:40AM

#ProTip So, I recently had someone email me to talk about some of their projects we might partner on. They included a nice one-paragraph summary of each project in their email, so I was easily able to decide if we would possibly be able to partner. It was very nice and we will be meeting up soon.

I get SO many emails, messages and voicemails asking for meetings or phone conferences to discuss “something.” I find that to be highly inconsiderate. If you cannot at least give me an upfront clue what you want to talk about, then I assume you are trying to sucker me. Further, if you do not already have a good idea what you want to meet about, then it is just a waste of my time.

Here is the gist of the #ProTip – You need to have a reasonably fleshed-out idea (more than 12%) before you approach someone to ask for their time and resources. You need to be able to summarize that idea in just one or two paragraphs.

#ProTip on the other side, do not waste your time on meetings about “something.” Make sure that anyone requesting your time has a reasonable idea that they can summarize for you before agreeing to meet them.

I have wasted sooooooooo much time in meetings about “Let’s talk about partnering!” or other such undirected nonsense. None of it has ever come to anything. I am happy to talk to people, if they know what they are talking about, otherwise I have to politely decline. I have taken to asking people for a project summary before agreeing to meet with them. Surprising how many meetings never happen. There are certainly exceptions to this tip, but they are extremely rare. via Facebook

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