People will often warn you: “Don’t poke the bear.” It means don’t draw attention to yourself when you think the act of drawing attention will turn that attention negative. If the bear wakes on its own, it may take longer, but the bear won’t be angry. If you poke it and wake it up, it will likely be grouchy.
When it comes to actual bears, that’s probably good advice. But it’s a poor excuse to be timid in many other situations. A potential customer who’s stopped responding isn’t a bear. A boss who hasn’t gotten back to you about your raise request isn’t a bear.
People are afraid that the negative response they might get is a “no” to whatever request they initially made. But guess what? No response at all is also a “no!”
You have nothing to lose, everything to gain, and in many cases, much more leverage than you imagine. Poke the damned bear.
The Opportunity Machine 