Good Correspondence Hygiene (G.C.H.)
Did you shower this morning? How about write a note to an old friend? If not, Al Franken would say that's poor correspondence hygiene (P.C.H.) and it's bad for your network. In his book, Oh, The Things I Know, he takes an unsurprising, sarcastic slant on life's lessons, including the importance of writing personal notes. All politics and kidding aside, he makes a good point:
"Personal notes are the glue that binds your network of valuable contacts together. Never miss an opportunity to make a new friend or touch base with an old one by writing a personal note."
Leaders are known for writing short personal notes to the people that can help them accomplish their goals:
"Former President George H. W. Bush is famous for spending the last part of every day writing personal notes to friends, supporters, and ofttimes, to people he just met ... In fact, many political analysts believe that the relationships forged by his simple act of common courtesy were the key to his ascent to the presidency."