Networking Is Not Working: Stop Collecting Business Cards and Start Making Meaningful Connections

I (and most of our culture, I think), have a bit of a love/hate relationship with making, cultivating, and maintaining relationships in a strategic, premeditated way. I have little sympathy for someone who is great at what they do but complains that they can't get their business or career to a level that would make them happy if they are just focused on doing what they do and never think about or plan how to get people to know about what they can offer, thinking they will stumble into the right situations. On the other hand, when I interact with someone whose every phrase and expression seems like he rehearsed it in front a mirror holding his copy of Zig Ziglar, all I can think about is how I can extricate myself from the conversation and possibly laugh with friends about his used-car salesman layer of slime. Fifteen years ago, everyone I know felt that way about online dating, too, as it seemed overly desperate. Now it's more the case that if a friend of mine complained about how she was sad not to be in a relationship but would not take advantage of online resources I'd tell her that being lonely was partly her own fault. Sure, in the movies we still ascribe a greater level of authenticity to love that grows from bumping into someone at the coffee shop than we allow to love found on a dating site, but in real life times are always changing, and most people have come to see that authenticity can lead to real relationships online just as much as on the street. Coburn touches on these parallels between business networking and dating in his book with the networking event/club scene analogy, but there's nothing new there. However at a deeper level the change in dating above is exactly what makes this book useful. As business, friendship, dating, and all of our interactions with people have changed, new understandings of the role authenticity plays in relationships, how to think about it in our own assessments of others and ourselves, and how to demonstrate authenticity to others have become essential. That's not a completely novel insight either, I know. But Coburn's book arrives at a time that its message is still news to many in business. Also, it does a good job, without wandering into the philosophy of it all, of driving home the point through practical examples. There are all sorts of "how to" resources (for dummies or otherwise) out there in most fields, but if the object of the how-to steps is not somehow a different target than what people have been aiming at in the past, the book or website won't be that interesting. If "networking" were a static, universally agreed upon ideal that people were trying to achieve then an Ikea instructions sheet or an Instructables slide show would be sufficient and all that would matter would be which people practiced the list of steps enough to become good at "networking." But this book does a nice job of combining advice on practical actions with a more important education on changing preconceived notions - and even motivations and values. The how-to material can make this immediately practical to many readers, but it also acts as a bit of a spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine find its way in. That makes this a much more useful book in the longer-term, and a pretty special one.

This book at best is a 3 star.I read this book cover to cover twice to be very fair and I have to say this book will help you understand networking but the solution the author provides is going to apply to a very few successful people who may not need what he is recommending in this book. Networking, no matter how much money one invests, is hard, strategic and time consuming. You can't be good at both your work and network. I know very successful people who have absolutely very little or no time for network. There is a lot of details about networking 3.0 that the author has glossed over in this book. The examples are sketchy and not very convincing to me. In short, this is not a comprehensive look at networking, To be fair to the author, all these types of books are mediocre at best.One of the main problem I have with this book is that I do not agree with author's view of networking. I get the feeling he views it as a business transaction which is fine but just say it then. Networking the way I understand it is to help people without any expectation that the other person can or will reciprocate. If you don't view it this way, then it is not networking; it is transactional.I do agree with the author that network is wealth, but as we all know that there is always a new quick rich scheme invented that works for a very few people. I recommend this book if you want to understand the research and experience that the author shares about networking, but I can't recommend this book on the basis that it will make you a good networker. It won't.The author has written a very readable book which I think could have been written as a long blog and still conveyed the message well. The author's blogs are very good.

A pretty good idea, and it is well told.I strongly believe in Networking, however it's not a magic pill, It's the same as anything else in life. You need to find people and demonstrate them "benefits" that you provide, or they can access through you. Without real value added, no relations will work for the long term. But if you invest your time wisely, and build a team (as suggested in the book), many doors will be opened much easier than just by exchanging cards on events.Good read, Down to earth, and To the point - though it is definitely not easy to execute.

The author has an interesting point of view. His way of networking is hosting meetings between excellent professionals of different industries (lawyers, medics, architects...). He helps these people to know other professionals (for instance if the architect needs a lawyer, he introduces him a great one). At the same time, he introduces himself as an expert financial advisor which generates a lot of new clients for him.The issue is that if you don't have your own company, this approach doesn't make any sense (for instance, if you are a good programmer in a technological company is something that is not going to be useful to the lawyer). It is going to be better to meet people in higher positions within your company or in other companies in your industry.

A simple book which delivers what it promises. Easy-reading, it is a good option to train your English reading. Recommended.

This is now THE book on Networking for this era of doing business. A must read for all CEOs and their key employees. Derek has forever changed my outlook on networking from something I hated and avoided doing, to something I'm now excited to do more of.Cameron Herold, Author of business growth book, Double Double

Well written, practical and straight to the point, this book is a great value-for-money tool for Financial Advisors and sales people alice. Recommended.

I really enjoyed reading Derek's book. It is simple to read and very pragmatic with down to earth advices. It gives fairplay simple advices. I like the approach to deliver More values to our best customers without expecting an immediate return. But It will come in due time.I recommand it to anybody who is sincerely interested in the well being of its customers and developping a long term mutually beneficial relationship.This a very good investment in time to read that book which is very cheap.Norbert