{"id":711,"date":"2017-03-15T11:14:38","date_gmt":"2017-03-15T11:14:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/?p=711"},"modified":"2017-03-15T11:14:38","modified_gmt":"2017-03-15T11:14:38","slug":"book-review-never-eat-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/uncategorized\/2017\/03\/book-review-never-eat-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – “Never Eat Alone”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ivan,<\/a>
Ivan, a second year student studying Business Philosophy, reviews “Never Eat Alone”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was March 1st<\/sup> when I noticed \u2018Never Eat Alone\u2019 popping on my Amazon \u2018suggested items\u2019 feed. Honestly, I didn\u2019t read the abstract or any comments, I just liked the picture on the cover and decided to give it a try.<\/p>\n

What a better time to start reading a book than midterm semester at University? I had so much work to do, that finally gave up and had a good stretch on the couch cuddling with a nice business book.<\/p>\n

NEVER EAT ALONE – Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, one relationship at a time. (First published 2005, new edition 2014.)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

The book gives you insights on how to grow your network of business contacts, how to create new friendships and nurture them. The New York Times referred to it as \u2018A step \u2013 by \u2013 step way to build relationships with anyone.\u2019 I consider this as a huge recognition especially nowadays when one can find a numerous amount of business books on the same topic.<\/p>\n

Also, one of the main reasons why Keith Ferrazzi, a Harvard Business school graduate, created it was because of an existing problem in the world of communication. Namely, people tend to communicate in a \u2018cold\u2019 way in the contemporary business world, without putting efforts into creating a sustainable and effective relationship. The author exposes his way of networking with people through sharing how to maintain a relationship with more than 1000 acquaintances and friends efficiently.<\/p>\n

Section 1 \u2013 The Mind-Set<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

In the first part of the book Keith gives a broad view of the \u2018generosity\u2019 method he invented. \u201cThe currency of real networking is not greed but generosity.\u201d It is a very simple model \u2013 when making a network of connections, one should introduce new connections to existing ones. This way, one becomes generous \u2013 doesn\u2019t keep all the connections to themselves but introducing people to each other and continue the network process. As a consequence, the same business partners or friends are more likely to be \u2018generous\u2019 to you in return. As Ferrazzi puts it: \u201cThe more people you help, the more help you\u2019ll have, and the more help you\u2019ll have helping others\u201d To further, he believes that the competitive edge today is won by improving relationships.<\/p>\n

Section 2 \u2013 The Skill Set <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

First of all, before going to an interview or conference, one should do their homework<\/em><\/em>. The author emphasizes on a key rule to research for all participants in a conference beforehand in order to know exactly who to approach and how to permanently add them to the network list. As he describes it: \u201cpreparation is if not the key to genius then at least the key to sounding like a genius\u201d. Ferrazzi gives practical examples from his career on how to \u2018warm up the cold call\u2019 and seem more appealing to the person of interest. He considers networking events as useless \u2013 attendants pass their resumes to people who want to pass their resumes. They have one thing in common, which is joblessness. However, he believes conferences are great way to meet different people from a variety of backgrounds.<\/p>\n

Section 3 \u2013 Turning connections into Compatriots<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

This sections begins with the importance of health, wealth and children for sustainable relationships. The reader must ask why that is. The answer is simple \u2013 a person will genuinely care in putting effort into creating a relationship with you if you help them through a health issue, have a positive effect on their wealth or sincerely take interest in their children. Also, Ferrazzi emphasizes that \u2018staying in touch\u2019 is a key aspect for nurturing relationships.<\/p>\n

Section 4 \u2013 Connecting in the Digital Age<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

What a better way to stay in touch with your business acquaintances than LinkedIn? The platform is highly popular today and creates many opportunities for growth and networking. With the help of social media, users have the free will to receive whatever content they\u2019re interested in \u2013 which is a powerful tool. This section also gives practical advice on how to maintain social media pages and how to switch from Christmas cards to more frequent and sufficient methods of communication digitally.<\/p>\n

Section 5 \u2013 Trading Up and giving back <\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

In this section, Ferrazzi familiarises the readers with practical tips on how to create and develop a brand around ourselves. How to be interesting, to promote yourself correctly and last but not least, to stop being discouraged and start speaking your mind. People will never know what qualities and skills you have until you express them and shyness is not your friend \u2013 communication and networking is. Being honest is a key aspect. Looking realistically, what do you have to lose?<\/p>\n

\u2018Never Eat Alone\u2019 is a great book I finished over a week, an even greater excuse to miss a couple of classes and snooze longer in bed. It reminded me of the practical networking tips Dr. Mark Gatenby and Dr. Stefan Cantore deliver constantly across during the first year lectures in the Business school. It also reminded me of the great lectures on Entrepreneurs DNA delivered by the incredible Dr. Shahnaz Ibrahim. I thoroughly recommend it to shy people, wondering how to create connections in the broad and scary business world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  It was March 1st when I noticed \u2018Never Eat Alone\u2019 popping on my Amazon \u2018suggested items\u2019 feed. Honestly, I didn\u2019t read the abstract or any comments, I just liked the picture on the cover and decided to give it a try. What a better time to start reading a book than midterm semester at University? I had so much …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97847,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","column","threecol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97847"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":713,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions\/713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.soton.ac.uk\/bscbusinessmanagement\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}