What do you think?
Rate this book
Strategic Connections: The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World
Today's organizations are collaborative. With old command-and-control methods replaced by openness and transparency, networking has become an essential professional skill--expected of everyone, at every level.
Unveiling eight indispensable competencies for the new network-oriented workplace, Strategic Connections provides practical advice for building better, more productive business relationships. Readers will discover how to:
* Commit to a positive, proactive networking mindset
* Align networking activities with individual and organizational objectives
* Leverage their contacts by organizing them into strategic groups
* Earn trust--a prerequisite for collaboration
* Boost their social acumen and increase their likeability
* Master conversational skills and deepen interactions
* Employ storytelling to make communications memorable
* Use networking to deliver value to the company
Thanks to technology, new contacts are only a click away. But the level of connection and collaboration required for real success demands advanced face-to-face relationship-building skills. This book gives you the tools you need to meet goals, execute strategies, foster innovation, and make yourself invaluable to your organization.
Unveiling eight indispensable competencies for the new network-oriented workplace, Strategic Connections provides practical advice for building better, more productive business relationships. Readers will discover how to:
* Commit to a positive, proactive networking mindset
* Align networking activities with individual and organizational objectives
* Leverage their contacts by organizing them into strategic groups
* Earn trust--a prerequisite for collaboration
* Boost their social acumen and increase their likeability
* Master conversational skills and deepen interactions
* Employ storytelling to make communications memorable
* Use networking to deliver value to the company
Thanks to technology, new contacts are only a click away. But the level of connection and collaboration required for real success demands advanced face-to-face relationship-building skills. This book gives you the tools you need to meet goals, execute strategies, foster innovation, and make yourself invaluable to your organization.
- GenresBusinessNonfiction
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 7, 2015
14 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Anne Baber
11 booksANNE BABER cofounded Contacts Count with Lynne Waymon, an international training firm, 24 years ago. They are the authors of Make Your Contacts Count.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 21, 2021
Networking is more important today than it has ever been, which means that developing networking skills is paramount for today’s workers. You can become a strategic networker by leveraging your contacts in new and creative ways, and fully committing to your networker identity.
When you accept that networking is part of your professional role, you can then approach it in a strategic way, just as you would your actual professional role.
First, be proactive. If you want to be the best networker, don’t sit around and wait for things to happen to you. You have to make moves!
A strategic networker has contacts in many areas and works to develop trusting relationships.
everyone’s network consists of four nets:
The WorkNet includes everyone you work with on a daily basis, such as your co-workers.
The OrgNet includes people in other divisions and departments from your organization; these could be your friends in finance or IT.
The ProNet includes professional contacts outside your workplace. These could be your colleagues in, say, the national engineers’ association, or your former clients and co-workers.
The LifeNet encompasses your family, friends and even the people you play squash with.
Ask yourself how solid your connections are in each of these nets – a good networker has them all covered.
On average, it takes six to eight conversations to build trust with a new contact, so keep at it.
As a strategic networker, you must increase your social acumen and deepen interactions.
when it’s time to end the conversation with a new contact, find a way to turn it into a greater networking opportunity, both for you and for her.
Strategic networkers communicate their expertise.
When someone asks what you do, answer with more than just your job title. Instead, answer with something that demonstrates your competencies.
A good way to do this is to use the Best/Test. First, reveal one skill you want people to remember about you, then come up with an example that backs up that skill.
In order to be an adaptable networker, you’ll need to follow these three principles: reframe networking, risk reaching out and reinforce collaborative culture.
By reframing networking in your mind, you encourage yourself to acknowledge the importance of networking. By committing to your networker identity, you know that you’re far more than your mere job description. Remind yourself that you’re not just your job title; you have plenty of untapped talents.
Risking reaching out urges you to leave your comfort zone in order to develop new relationships. Recall your newfound networking skills to help you feel more confident when reaching out to new contacts.
Reinforcing the collaborative culture encourages you to act as if you own the organization you work for. If you treat it as your own, you’ll be better equipped to develop strategies to help the company achieve greater success.
When you accept that networking is part of your professional role, you can then approach it in a strategic way, just as you would your actual professional role.
First, be proactive. If you want to be the best networker, don’t sit around and wait for things to happen to you. You have to make moves!
A strategic networker has contacts in many areas and works to develop trusting relationships.
everyone’s network consists of four nets:
The WorkNet includes everyone you work with on a daily basis, such as your co-workers.
The OrgNet includes people in other divisions and departments from your organization; these could be your friends in finance or IT.
The ProNet includes professional contacts outside your workplace. These could be your colleagues in, say, the national engineers’ association, or your former clients and co-workers.
The LifeNet encompasses your family, friends and even the people you play squash with.
Ask yourself how solid your connections are in each of these nets – a good networker has them all covered.
On average, it takes six to eight conversations to build trust with a new contact, so keep at it.
As a strategic networker, you must increase your social acumen and deepen interactions.
when it’s time to end the conversation with a new contact, find a way to turn it into a greater networking opportunity, both for you and for her.
Strategic networkers communicate their expertise.
When someone asks what you do, answer with more than just your job title. Instead, answer with something that demonstrates your competencies.
A good way to do this is to use the Best/Test. First, reveal one skill you want people to remember about you, then come up with an example that backs up that skill.
In order to be an adaptable networker, you’ll need to follow these three principles: reframe networking, risk reaching out and reinforce collaborative culture.
By reframing networking in your mind, you encourage yourself to acknowledge the importance of networking. By committing to your networker identity, you know that you’re far more than your mere job description. Remind yourself that you’re not just your job title; you have plenty of untapped talents.
Risking reaching out urges you to leave your comfort zone in order to develop new relationships. Recall your newfound networking skills to help you feel more confident when reaching out to new contacts.
Reinforcing the collaborative culture encourages you to act as if you own the organization you work for. If you treat it as your own, you’ll be better equipped to develop strategies to help the company achieve greater success.
Displaying 1 of 1 review