Information is power–and the more you know about the people in your network, the better. But what kind of information do you need? In the Pocket Guide, I thought I’d done well by suggesting you learn about your contact’s family– spouses (and where they work), children (and the schools they attend), even siblings (and the companies they’re involved with). Then education and career history. Then affiliations (churches, clubs, professional organizations, political groups) and special interests (charities, sports, hobbies…)

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But one of the heavyweights of the networking field has taken this to an art form: Harvey Mackay lists sixty-six things you can find out about the people in your network. You could, of course ,direct the conversation so as to be able to find this information out–or you could simply have your contact’s file open when you chat with them on the phone, or open it after a meeting, and just fill in whatever information they shared that day.