Do you want to get ahead in life? Climb the ladder to personal success? The secret, master networker Keith Ferrazzi claims, is in reaching out to other people. As Ferrazzi discovered early in life, what distinguishes highly successful people from everyone else is the way they use the power of relationships - so that everyone wins. In Never Eat Alone , Ferrazzi lays out the specific steps - and inner mindset - he uses to reach out to connect with the thousands of colleagues, friends, and associates on his Rolodex, people he has helped and who have helped him. The son of a small-town steelworker and a cleaning lady, Ferrazzi first used his remarkable ability to connect with others to pave the way to a scholarship at Yale, a Harvard MBA, and several top executive posts. Not yet out of his thirties, he developed a network of relationships that stretched from Washington's corridors of power to Hollywood's A-list, leading to him being named one of Crain's 40 Under 40 and selected as a Global Leader for Tomorrow by the Davos World Economic Forum. Ferrazzi's form of connecting to the world around him is based on generosity, helping friends connect with other friends. Ferrazzi distinguishes genuine relationship-building from the crude, desperate glad-handling usually associated with "networking." He then distills his system of reaching out to people into practical, proven principles. Among them: Don't keep score: It's never simply about getting what you want. It's about getting what you want and making sure that the people who are important to you get what they want, too. "Ping" constantly: The Ins and Outs of reaching out to those in your circle of contacts all the time - not just when you need something. Never eat alone: The dynamics of status are the same whether you're working at a corporation or attending a society event - "invisibility" is a fate worse than failure. In the course of the book, Ferrazzi outlines the timeless strategies shared by the world's most connected individuals, from Katherine Graham to Bill Clinton, Vernon Jordan to the Dalai Lama. Chock full of specific advice on handling rejection, getting past gatekeepers, becoming a "conference commando," and more, Never Eat Alone is destined to take its place alongside How to Win Friends and Influence People as an inspirational classic.
Advance Praise for Never Eat Alone "Your network is your net worth. This book shows you how to add to your personal bottom line with better networking and bigger relationships. What a solid but easy read! Keith's personality shines through like the great (and hip) teacher you never got in college or business school. Buy this book for yourself, and tomorrow go out and buy one for your kid brother!" - Tim Sanders, author of Love Is the Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends and leadership coach at Yahoo! "Everyone in business knows relationships and having a network of contacts is important. Finally we have a real-world guide to how to create your own high-powered network tailored to your career goals and personal style." - Jon Miller, CEO, AOL "I've seen Keith Ferrazzi in action and he is a master at building relationships and networking to further the interests of an enterprise. He's sharing his playbook for those who want learn the secrets of this important executive art." - Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO-designate, Siemens AG "A business book that reads like a story - filled with personal triumphs and examples that leave no doubt to the reader that success in anything is built on meaningful relationships." - James H. Quigley, CEO, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP "Keith has long been a leading marketing innovator. His way with people truly makes him a star. In Never Eat Alone , he has taken his gift and created specific steps that are easily followed, to achieve great success." - Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision "Keith's insights on how to turn a conference, a meeting, or a casual contact into an extraordinary opportunity for mutual success make invaluable reading for people in all stages of their professional and personal lives. I strongly recommend it." - Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean, Yale School of Management