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Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts Into Personal and Professional Success PDF

258 Pages·2008·1.72 MB·English
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FM_1 07/28/2008 1 relationship economics Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts into Personal and Professional Success David Nour John Wiley & Sons, Inc. FM_1 07/28/2008 4 FM_1 07/28/2008 1 relationship economics Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts into Personal and Professional Success David Nour John Wiley & Sons, Inc. FM_1 07/28/2008 2 Copyright ß 2008 by David Nour. All rights reserved. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey. Published simultaneously in Canada. Relationship Economics, Relationship Currency, Reputation Capital, and Professional Net Worth are trademarks of BeOne Now, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages. For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed by trademarks. In all instances where the author or publisher is aware of a claim, the product names appear in Initial Capital letters. Readers, however, should contact the appropriate companies for more complete information regarding trademarks and registration. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. For more information about Wiley products, visit our web site at www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Nour, David, 1968- Relationship economics: transform your most valuable business contacts into personal and professional success/David Nour. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-28960-0 (cloth) 1. Social networks—Economic aspects. 2. Social capital (Sociology)—Economic aspects. 3. Business networks. I. Title. HM741.N68 2008 650.1 3—dc22 2008012193 Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 FM_1 07/29/2008 3 Contents Acknowledgments v Foreword The Strategic Value of Business Relationships —Alan Weiss vii Preface ix 21 Why Most ‘‘Networking’’ Doesn’t Work! 1 22 The Evolution of Quantifiable Relationships 37 23 Strategic Relationship Planning 65 24 Understanding the Science of Social Network Analysis (SNA) 91 25 Relationship-Centric Goals for Business Development 109 26 Pivotal Contacts for Leadership Development 127 27 Relationship Bank for Strategy Execution 151 28 Relationship Currency for Adaptive Innovation 171 29 Transforming Us and Them into We 191 10 The LinkedIn Effect 213 About the Author 239 Index 241 iii FM_1 07/28/2008 4 FM_1 07/28/2008 5 Acknowledgments s we embark on a new chapter in the evolution of BeOne Now, A Inc., I am indebted to the many clients of the past and present, who have allowed me to identify and hone a passion for relation- ships and the craft of helping their teams realize the enormous power and potential of the same. Their trust continues to fuel my aspirations yet. Likewise, I owe a great deal to our past and present dedicated team of professionals who I am proud to call colleagues and friends. In partic- ular, my business partner, Jennifer Whitt, PMP, who continues to provide love, support, and ‘‘centered’’ fine tuning. If we are all products of the advice we take, I would remiss not to mention my past leaders such as Bill Neal, Lee Nicholson, Ken Marcks, Bruce Kasanoff, and Christian Gheorghe; over the past three decades they, along with countless others, have provided invaluable investments and insights into my personal and professional development. My thanks go to Alan Weiss, a mentor and one of the best minds in the relationship business; Charlie Paparelli, Dan Brown, Dale Jones, and Paul Young for the purity of their faith in refilling my cup; Veronica Tompkins for her branding brilliance and infec- tious kindness; Scotty Fletcher for her late nights of editing; my agent Bill Gladstone for his representation; and to Matt Holt, execu- tive editor at John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and his team, for supporting this endeavor. My deepest gratitude to my parent, Manouchehr and Nayareh, in Iran, who so unselfishly gave up their son to live the American dream; to Uncle Ken, Aunt Jan, Uncle Taghi, Aunt Badry, and Brother Brian for opening their lives and encouraging the passion to dream with the v FM_1 07/28/2008 6 vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS discipline to execute; to my sister Hanieh—I miss you every day and see your zest for life and kind soul in Grayson’s eyes; I know you’re looking down on our family with love and pride. Finally, I dedicate this book to Wendy, Grayson, and Justus. Without your unconditional love and support, I would have never fin- ished this project. FM_1 07/28/2008 7 Foreword The Strategic Value of Business Relationships ’ve long observed that consulting is a relationship business. But then, Iso are most businesses. Relationships vary in their degree, scope, ten- ure, and value. Too often, we tend to spend time with people who can’t say ‘‘yes,’’ but can say ‘‘no.’’ So what do they eventually say? ‘‘No!’’ Yet the true nature of strategic business relationships is win/win. This is not a zero-sum game, nor a competition, nor a hydraulic sys- tem. It is about reciprocity in relationship building, while also making sure that you achieve your own best interests. Organizations move forward by building on strength, not by cor- recting weakness. Strategic relationship management is an underappre- ciated, underutilized strength that most firms can begin building on immediately with no capital investment whatsoever. Relationships have value. If you don’t believe that, think about the worth of a referral from a business colleague who sent business your way with no cost of acquisition whatsoever. What if that business re- news with you for five years, and that relationship provides four more new, analogous business relationships through referrals? If you think that’s far-fetched, talk to any veteran, successful busi- ness owner and you’ll soon be disabused of the myth. I can trace over 90 percent of all my current business in a seven-figure consulting practice to four early relationships. Most of us who are enjoying great success can cite similar dynamics. I’ve been in business for 25 years. I haven’t made a cold call in 10 years or more. There is a huge and appropriate emphasis on branding today. But branding is simply a form of creating high-value relationships through vii FM_1 07/28/2008 8 viii FOREWORD the consistent representation of uniform quality. I’ve long advised con- sultants and other professional service providers that logic makes people think, but emotion makes them act. Brands form emotional con- nections. Relationships are the most essential conductors of emotion. We buy, hire, employ, heed, support, and are loyal to those we trust, those who take interest in us, and those who appeal to our own self-interest (which they apparently share). So the question becomes this: Are we identifying, nurturing, and retaining those relationships which are most important for our business? Not all customers are created equal. We must differentiate among those relationships which are the most vital for the growth of our enterprise. David Nour, with whom I’ve worked collegially for years, raises this pursuit to an art form. He recognizes the value of differing poten- tial relationships, but also delves into how to identify, nurture, and cap- italize on them. Where else do you find that kind of potential source of life within your own organization? This book is your divining rod. —ALANWEISS, Ph.D., Author, Million Dollar Consulting

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