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The Connect Effect

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The Connect Effect

Building Strong Personal, Professional, and Virtual Networks

Berrett-Koehler,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

Humans are social creatures, so networking is doing what comes naturally, even if you’re an introvert.

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Editorial Rating

6

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Humans are social animals. Therefore, in both personal and business life, networking is an important force. For example, knowledge workers often face complex problems whose solutions require gathering information from people with a variety of expertise, whom they may not know personally. Author Michael Dulworth is the first to admit that much of networking is simple common sense, but doing it well, he says, requires planning. In this straightforward book, he provides a quick explanation of how to improve your networking skill, whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, and of how to use networks in your work life. The book includes an especially interesting section about analyzing organizational networks. Even though the book is short, it is somewhat repetitive. Still, getAbstract recommends it to recent graduates, workers and managers who want to improve their performance and get ahead in their chosen fields.

Summary

Finding Those Special People

Networking helps you expand the personal connections that contribute to your knowledge and social community. Doing it well can help you reach your personal and professional goals. People used to rely on face-to-face interactions to create their networks, but Web sites such as MySpace and Flickr are enabling them to use virtual connections as well.

Networking is especially important for knowledge workers, who use it to find resources, information, approvals and other elements they need to complete their projects. Networks may consist of professional colleagues or those who share interests. Since the people in your network stay on top of developing cultural and business trends, their knowledge is often more up-to-date than that in books or periodicals. All members of a network benefit when the participants freely exchange information and contacts. Reciprocity is the key to successful networking. The only special skill or attribute you need to become a good networker is the willingness to share information with others.

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About the Author

Michael Dulworth is president and CEO of a company that specializes in creating peer networks for human resource professionals in large organizations.

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