By Keith Ferrazzi
Real networking is finding ways to make other people successful. Give more than you can get. 9
Lifetime corporate employment is dead; we’re all free agents now 12
Never keep score. 22
A goal is a dream with a deadline. Before you start writing down your goals, you better know what your dreams are. 26
Blue Flame – where passion and ability come together. Write a list of dreams and goals. Next to it a second list with everything that brings you joy and pleasure. (hobbies, movies, books) Now find the intersection of the two lists. 27
“Seize this very minute; what you can do, or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 49
We live in a world of abundance of choices of business. This means that people have a choice in everything and everyone they associate with. It is a flood of information and contacts out there so you have to work hard at maintaining relationships. 60
“Spectacular achievement is always preceded by spectacular preparation.” – Robert H. Schuller
Facebook’s carefully curated personae often neglect (on purpose) our most pressing or passionate issues due to vanity. 70
Churchill was a master politician but he also admitted in his own writing, the blood, sweat, and tears of preparation that went into making of a single sentence, or delivery of a clever joke. 73
You don’t have to shy away from admitting that you did your research on people. “I always make a special effort to inquire about the people I’d like to meet”. Inevitably people are flattered. Wouldn’t you be? 74
LinkedIn lets you aggregate contacts now whether they are members or not and see your communications across all platforms. 79
Someone who is busy is more likely to pick up their own phone at 8am or 6:30pm. Plus he will be less stressed since he is not facing the usual workday pressures.. 85
A 2011 study said the degrees of separation have gone from 6 down to 4.74 now. 88
Talk a little, say a lot. Impart both a sense of urgency and convenience.
The Psychology of Persuasion – compromise is a powerful force. When boy scouts sell you a raffle ticket and you refuse, they try to sell you a lower priced candy bar and usually customers will buy it since they feel they are holding up to their social obligation. 90
When writing emails, live and die by the subject line. Focus on your strongest hook, either the contact you have in common or the specific value you have to offer. Make them curious. 90
The only acceptable time to bother a seat mate on a flight is during the inflight meal.106
Follow up within the 48 hours after a meeting. Don’t forget to include the go-between or follow up with them separately thanking them, keeping them updated. 115
Organizing conferences
– Review the event’s materials, visit the website. Put in a phone call to the organizer. The person will likely be overworked and stressed. Offer your resources, time, creativity, connections to help.” 119
– Send a fax ahead of time to the hotel that is hosting the conference. Tell them that the night before the conference you are hosting a dinner or drinks for them. Great way to target VIPs. 125
– Be an information hub, memorize the brochure, talk about local restaurants, etc. Be a man on the ground. 128
– Become a reporter. Use Twitter, Facebook live, all social media. 128
Henry Kissinger’s technique for commanding a room: “Enter the room. Step to the right. Survey the room. See who is there. You want other people to see you.” 132
56% of people find jobs through personal connections. 19% only used traditional routes. Use the strength of weak ties, that is the ties outside of your usual social circles. 137
Use tools such as Alexa and Klout to measure influence to get a rough metric for who’s dominating a particular space. Peruse Twitter for best-of lists and see who is most frequently retweeted. 144
Never forget the person who brought you to the dance. 150
Too many people confuse secrecy with importance. Business schools teach us to keep everything close to our vest. But the world has changed. Power, today, comes from sharing information, not withholding it. More than ever, the lines demarcating the personal and the professional have been blurred. We are an open source society, and that calls for open-source behavior. And as a rule, not many secrets are worth the energy require to keep them a secret. 155
People’s children mean anything to them. If you mentor someone’s kids they will remember you for life. 179
If 80% of success is just showing up, then 80% of building and maintaining relationships is just staying in touch. Pinging. 195
Ping when you have time. In the cab. In a car. In the bathroom. Bored at a conference. Make it a habit of saving every email you send and receive. Categorize them. Pay attention when you place your phone calls. There are times you DON’T want to get thru and just leave a vmail. Call their office early or late if you just want to leave a vmail. 200
“Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects…the quality of the connections is the key.” Charles Eames.
The value of the little fish. Don’t waste your time trying to attract the attention of Richard Branson or Mark Cuban with your most clever tweets. Rather, spend your time on trying to find TOMORROW’s big kahunas. Build the alliance and hopefully in five or ten years you’ll each be in a better position to help the other. Or go after the #2 or right hand guy of an organization. 232
The Algebra of Trust = Generosity + Vulnerability + Accountability + Candor 237
There are two types of people in the world, those who make excuses and those who get the job done. You are 100% responsible for anything that has your name on it. No excuses. 250
“They use to say fortune prefers the prepared mind. Now it’s fortune prefers the networked mind.” – John Perry Barlow 255
You can hack serendipity. The Power of Pull by John Hagel, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison. 257
People who are “Luck Dominant” 86 percent of them credited their success to being open to new things and people. 263
Get out in front and analyze the trends and opportunities on the cutting edge. Identify the people in your industries who are always out in front and use all the relationship skills you’ve acquired to connect with them. Take them to lunch. Read their blogs. In fact, read everything you can. 281
“The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.” – Dalai Lama 287
Commit yourself to finding your passion, that blue flame and it will be rewarded with answers. Reevaluate the pursuit of prestige and money and refocus on what matters the most: relationships. 365