Keith Ferrazzi grew up in a working class family. Having graduated from both Yale University and Harvard Business School, Ferrazzi became the youngest elected Partner at Deloitte Consulting and youngest Fortune 500 Chief Marketing Officer at Starwood Hotels before being hired to become CEO of YaYa, a games company funded by Michael Milken.
Ferrazzi credits his career success to an obsession with building lifelong relationships with those able to positively influence the outcome of his personal and professional objectives. He has been called one of the world’s most connected individuals by both Inc. and Forbes magazines.
Having first come across Ferrazzi in an article in Inc. Magazine, I became fascinated by his methodical, some might say fanatical, approach to networking. His book, Never Eat Alone, published earlier this year, opens with the following quote by Margaret Wheatley:
“Relationships are all there is. Everything in the universe only exists because it is in relationship to everything else. We have to stop pretending we are individuals that can go it alone.”
And that is the premise of the entire book which articulates Ferrazzi’s rigorous approach to building relationships in simple discrete steps. Ferrazzi advocates that networking is an activity which should be deliberately planned and executed using a structured approach which delivers tangible benefits. This contrasts with what he refers to as mere ‘business card swapping’.
Ferrazzi is keen to expose the networking myth that you only start reaching out to others when in need of something such as a new job. He emphasises that relationships take time to establish and nurture and are a two-way street. In other words, build your network before you need it and recognise that it’s never simply about getting solely what you want but about getting what you want and also making sure the people important to you get what they want too.
It is within this context that Never Eat Alone sets out Ferrazzi’s approach to relationship building, spanning the entire continuum, from the identification of those with whom you wish to, or should, establish a relationship, through to the means of establishing and continuing the development of that relationship.
Never Eat Alone contains a range of practical steps, some of which may seem obvious at first glance, but in reality are not practiced by the vast majority in our day to day lives. For me, the book demonstrates the value in taking a strategic approach to networking. It also provides a tactical tool-kit enabling you to improve the scope and value of your relationships.
While recognising that Ferrazzi has made networking his 24 by 7 obsession which is impractical for all but the extremely committed, the content hit my sweet spot, providing me with a holistic approach to relationship building. It has already reaped dividends in the relationships I have established as a consequence of utilising elements of Ferrazzi's methodology.
Never Eat Alone obtained widespread media coverage in the US when published and made the bestseller lists. You can preview a few chapters of the book here and sign up to his insightful ‘tip of the week’ email here. Ferrazzi also maintains a blog which he updates periodically with interesting anecdotes.
In summary, I found Never Eat Alone to be a highly inspirational and invaluable read, so much so that I have bought it for and recommended it to numerous people over the last 6 months. Never Eat Alone is therefore the perfect title to feature as my first book recommendation on Look Beyond.
I have just finished reading The Search, a fascinating book which provides an historical context to the search industry, dominated today by Google, and how in such a short period the search culture has permeated many facets of our day to day lives.
