This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "Never Eat Alone" by Keith Ferrazzi. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.
Like this article? Sign up for a free trial here .
Do you want to improve your networking skills? What are some networking principles that can help you master the craft?
Networking gives you the opportunity to meet like-minded people with whom you can build mutually beneficial relationships. In Never Eat Alone, entrepreneur Keith Ferrazzi shares his key networking principles to help you maximize the chances of your networking efforts being successful.
Keep reading for Keith Ferrazzi’s networking principles.
Networking Principles: Network Your Way to Success
According to author and entrepreneur Keith Ferrazzi, developing fulfilling and mutually beneficial professional relationships—in other words, successfully networking—is crucial to career success. Becoming a prolific networker will give you a reputation for having good people skills, making it easier for you to gain positions managing others. Likewise, if you already know and get on well with company leaders, they may choose to do business with you rather than people they don’t know.
In Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi shares 4 key networking principles (or core beliefs) that helped him develop fruitful professional relationships.
#1: All Networking Should Be Reciprocal
Reciprocity is the first and foremost of Ferrazzi’s networking principles. When seeking to connect with someone, don’t just think about what they can give you, but also what you can give them. If you take a lot from your connections without giving anything back, you’ll gain a reputation for being selfish and taking advantage of people.
There are various things that you can offer a contact to keep your relationship reciprocal:
- Your services: For example, if you’re a skilled event planner and your contact is looking to arrange a conference, you could offer to help them.
- Your expertise: For instance, if your contact is looking to start investing and you’re an expert in that area, you could advise them. To make your expertise as useful as possible, keep your knowledge up to date by reading news articles, white papers, and academic studies about the latest developments.
- Material help: For example, you could offer money to a contact looking for investment in their startup.
- Career help: For instance, if your contact is out of work, you could offer to critique their resumé or help them with application forms.
- Friendship: For example, you could offer your contact a listening ear if they’re going through a tough time.
An essential element of developing reciprocal relationships is giving to other people simply because you want to help them—not because you expect something in return. If you don’t do this, you may fall into the trap of “keeping score”: closely monitoring how many favors you’ve given to and received from a person. You may even refuse to help others if they don’t immediately offer something to you to “even the score.” Withholding assistance in this way will severely harm your relationships, as it demonstrates to people that your motivations for helping them are only selfish.
#2: Goodwill Isn’t Finite
While the previous core belief focused a lot on the “giving” aspect of networking, this belief relates to asking for help from your connections. Specifically, it’s a reminder that people’s goodwill isn’t finite.
Many professionals believe that they can only ask a contact for assistance a limited number of times before they grow tired of being relied upon for help and consequently seek to end the relationship. Therefore, while they’re happy to keep giving to the contact, they resist seeking anything in return.
However, people won’t ever get sick of you asking them for favors. In fact, repeatedly asking someone for help strengthens your relationship because it’s a demonstration of how highly you value that person. By requesting their assistance, you’re implying that you see them as capable enough to solve your issue—which will make them like you even more.
#3: Networks Should Be Created Before You Need Them
The third core belief about networking is that networks should be created before you need them. Don’t wait to reach out to people in your field until you desperately need their help—for example, if you’ve just lost your job and need to find new opportunities. They’ll be disinclined to help you because you’re a total stranger to them—why should they assist you?
Instead, start to build your network long before your time of need. Gaining your contacts’ trust and goodwill first will make them more likely to help you later.
———End of Preview———
Like what you just read? Read the rest of the world's best book summary and analysis of Keith Ferrazzi's "Never Eat Alone" at Shortform .
Here's what you'll find in our full Never Eat Alone summary :
- How to build and maintain a successful professional network
- The 4 key strategies to building up a network
- Why you have to put in work to keep your network relationships strong
