Gatekeeper

I'm sure everyone has been in this situation at one time or another. A friend asks you for an introduction to someone in your network (ie. you connection), but you're not entirely sure that's a good idea. So, what do you do? This HBR article, entitled, "How to Keep Out the Riff-Raff" gives a little insight on just how to handle such situations. 


Some questions to ask yourself:
Q1). Will both parties stand to benefit? - Then yes. Do it.
Q2). If only one party will benefit, is the request reasonable? - Tricky. See questions 3 and 4.
Q3). Will you be wasting your connections time? 
Q4). Is the request worth cashing in a favor with your connection? 


If your still not sure what you should do, Jodi Glickman offers some rules and guidelines on how to proceed so that you don't lose a friend or ruin the relationship with your connection.