If you are a regular reader you know I have written about the strength of weak ties several times. Three years ago I wrote: The Strength of Weak Ties. I recently shared with Kevin that when I was a young lawyer I never heard of the premise, but my client development success most often involved recommendations by “weak ties.”

Every new significant client who came to me did so because someone originally recommended me and, that person was rarely in my inner circle of close friends. Years later I read research by Mark Granovetter and his paper; The Strength of Weak Ties, and learned these referral sources were all “weak ties.” My largest client found me because a government lawyer who was on a panel when I gave a presentation recommended me. I spent a half a day with him so definitely a “weak tie.”