{"id":29209,"date":"2021-03-13T11:42:08","date_gmt":"2021-03-13T15:42:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=29209"},"modified":"2021-03-23T20:13:59","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T00:13:59","slug":"relationship-action-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Relationship Action Plan: Networking With Purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the Relationship Action Plan from Never Eat Alone<\/em>? How can it help you advance your career and reach your professional goals<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationships\u00a0are critical to career advancement<\/a> and professional success. The Relationship Action Plan (RAP) is a written plan that details not only how you plan to achieve <\/em>your professional goals, but who s<\/em>hould be in your professional circle<\/a> to help you get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is how to create your Relationship Action Plan in four steps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How to Create Your Relationship Action Plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To create your Relationship Action Plan, follow these four steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Write down a long-term goal<\/strong> that you want to achieve within the next three years. <\/li>
  2. Write down at least one medium-term goal<\/strong> that will help you to achieve your long-term goal. This should be a goal that you can achieve within one year.<\/li>
  3. Write down at least one short-term goal<\/strong> that will help you to achieve your medium-term goal. This should be a goal that you can achieve within three months.<\/li>
  4. Next to all of your goals, write down who you think you\u2019ll need to network with to achieve them.<\/strong> For example, if your goal is to work at a particular company, write down that business\u2019s hiring manager.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Rules for Creating and Using Your RAP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    When creating and using your Relationship Action Plan, there are four rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rule #1: Make each goal as specific as possible.<\/strong> For instance, don\u2019t just write down \u201cmake lots of sales.\u201d Instead, write down a specific target and how you\u2019ll measure your success. For example, write, \u201cI want to increase my quarterly sales output substantially. I will consider myself to have achieved this goal once I\u2019m making $100,000 worth of sales each quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rule #2: Make the goals challenging, but achievable.<\/strong> For instance, if you made $50,000 worth of sales last month, don\u2019t set the goal of making $50,500 worth of sales next month\u2014that\u2019s far too easy. Likewise, don\u2019t challenge yourself to make $1 million worth of sales next month\u2014that\u2019s completely impossible. Instead, set a challenging yet reasonable revenue target number like $75,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If your goals are unchallenging, you\u2019ll find the process of achieving them boring and unfulfilling. Meanwhile, if they\u2019re challenging to the point of being impossible to achieve, you\u2019ll set yourself up for demotivation and disappointment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rule #3: Update your Relationship Action Plan as you complete your initial goals.<\/strong> Having an up-to-date plan for where you want to go next in your career (and who you should network with in the process) is useful no matter how much you\u2019ve already achieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Rule #4: Display your RAP somewhere prominent.<\/strong> For example, place it on your work desk or your fridge. Frequently seeing your RAP\u2014and, therefore, being reminded of your goals\u2014will help you stay focused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Research the People In Your RAP<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Once you have created your Relationship Action Plan, try to find out as much about potential new contacts as possible. For instance, what precisely is their job role<\/a>? What are their hobbies and interests? What are some of their recent career achievements? Researching people before you meet them is beneficial for two reasons: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. When you meet the person, you\u2019ll be able to tailor the conversation to suit their interests. <\/strong>For example, if you discover they like football, you can bring up a recent game. Your new contact is more likely to enjoy the conversation if you discuss topics they care about\u2014and they\u2019re more likely to want to speak to you again.<\/li>
    2. You may figure out what you can offer the person to keep your relationship reciprocal.<\/strong> For instance, if your research indicates that your target is seeking investment for their new business, you know that offering them money will go down well. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      The easiest way to research a potential contact is to look at their online presence. Specific websites to look at include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • Google:<\/strong> The search results will include recent news articles about the person, which may lead you to information about their latest achievements.<\/li>
      • LinkedIn:<\/strong> This is where people post about their professional achievements. Also, people\u2019s profiles usually include their work history, which will give you an insight into their career trajectory so far.<\/li>
      • Twitter:<\/strong> The content of the person\u2019s tweets will give you an indication of their interests. Who they interact with will show you what kinds of people they\u2019re already connected to.<\/li>
      • Company websites:<\/strong> If your potential contact has done anything remarkable at work, you may find information about it in the PR section of their employer\u2019s website. <\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        What is the Relationship Action Plan from Never Eat Alone? How can it help you advance your career and reach your professional goals? Relationships\u00a0are critical to career advancement and professional success. The Relationship Action Plan (RAP) is a written plan that details not only how you plan to achieve your professional goals, but who should be in your professional circle to help you get there. Here is how to create your Relationship Action Plan in four steps.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,34,12],"tags":[231],"class_list":["post-29209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-communication","category-relationships","tag-never-eat-alone","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nRelationship Action Plan: Networking With Purpose - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Relationship Action Plan is a written plan that details the professional relationships you want to build to help you advance your career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Relationship Action Plan: Networking With Purpose\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Relationship Action Plan is a written plan that details the professional relationships you want to build to help you advance your career.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-03-13T15:42:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-03-24T00:13:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/writing-talent-on-writing-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1528\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Darya Sinusoid\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darya Sinusoid\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0421cce75bc249b11e2517b3a91f9c46\"},\"headline\":\"Relationship Action Plan: Networking With Purpose\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-03-13T15:42:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-03-24T00:13:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\"},\"wordCount\":769,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/writing-talent-on-writing-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Never Eat Alone\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Career\",\"Communication\",\"Relationships\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/relationship-action-plan\/\",\"name\":\"Relationship Action Plan: Networking With Purpose - 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