I am, of course, talking about networking… and there are many schools of thought on this topic. If you are an “open networker” then size (and therefore reach) does indeed matter. There is an art and a science to Open Networking just as there is a methodology for “Closed” or relationship leveraged networking.

The real question from a business development standpoint, is how to make use of both open and relationship leveraged networking to the best effect. This means cultivating different behaviors and tools for each type of networking and choosing which to use in particular cases for specific results.

As in the case of all such exercises, making sure you can measure the effectiveness is important, so you can hone your skills and fine-tune your results. The two styles are not mutually exclusive, and many times we are not conscious of employing one or the other style.

As an example, even the most avid open networker will ask his or her trusted personal friends for introductions, and will do so in a completely different style than the mode in which they ask their open network.

Size matters in open networking, quality matters in relationship networking (and yes, there are overlaps)- for best effect, use both - two two two styles in one! While all this may seem obvious, it needs to be a consciously planned exercise, because without being able to measure the results, you are still shooting in the dark.