Out of everything I write about, this is probably the most important piece of advice I am ever going to hand out. I have a pretty good way to keep you sane….Okhams Razor.

Okhams Razor is the premise that with all things being equal, the simplest answer is usually the right one. I have beat myself up so many times after I have met with someone and they don’t return my calls or don’t answer my emails. It drives you crazy thinking about all the things that could have happened; maybe I fluffed the presentation, maybe he didn’t like the handshake, maybe she has found a better deal; maybe my idea really isn’t that good; maybe maybe MAYBE …you get the idea.

Sometimes, they may just not have gotten round to you yet or they are on vacation or are traveling right now or are ill or one of their children is ill. There are a million and one simple yet highly plausible reasons besides all of the mad ones you conjure up in your mind why they haven’t got back to you.

Point here is this.

When you did everything right, you got good rapport, the information exchange was great, the handoff and follow up promise was in place, the calls are put in along with the ‘so good to meet you email’ and you hear nothing back, follow these three simple steps:

1. Take a breath and recall Okhams Razo

1. Wait just a little bit longer than where you are now (a day or so)
2. Give them a call and see if they received the info.

You will be surprised at how many times the reason is nothing to do with you. I have had people actually happy that I didn’t let the connection go and have been apologetic about not getting back to me.

There are caveats of course. You may have been grin fucked (see the post about Grin F*cking).

I would honestly say that applying Okhams Razor to my encounters has saved me sleepless nights and lots and lots of stress.

Want less stress? Try using the Razor.