Guest Blogger Tahl Raz: Four Surprising Things That Will Grow Your Network (and Net-Worth) Now

Posted on July 20th, 2010 by Keith Ferrazzi

We have a guest to tip today: Tahl Raz, my Never Eat Alone co-author and partner on Relationship Masters Academy. Enjoy Tahl Razand have a great week! – Keith

In a recent Harvard Business Review blog post, leadership expert Dr. Cleve Stevens contrasts traditional leaders with transformational leaders for whom the employee-boss relationship is more than a transaction – money in exchange for labor. Transformational leaders know and recognize that a great company satisfies far more than the monetary needs of its employees.

And so it is exactly with Relationship Masters, who find inventive means to connect and build relationships.

Here are the four things Relationship Masters use to build the most powerful and lucrative networks, according to Dr. Stevens’ piece:

1. Love. Sure sounds touchy-feely, doesn't it? But love simply means focused concern that is exclusively for that person's good. Show your contacts you care about them and their futures. Emails that begin, "I was just thinking about you. . ." and "I'd like to introduce you to someone I think could be a big help with. . ." should be mainstays of your pinging strategy.

2. Growth. No one wants to be exactly where they are forever. Provide the enthusiasm, resources, and contacts that allow your contacts to grow and expand.

3. Contribution. To feel fulfilled, people need to know they are contributing to something larger than themselves. Sometimes all it takes is to show or remind someone the ways that their work matters to the world. Other times you can present direct opportunities for volunteering or charity.

4. Meaning. We are meaning-seeking creatures. Share a vision that demonstrates that what you do and what you want to accomplish serve a larger purpose, and find creative ways for your network to engage in that purpose.

Now let’s tap the brilliance of this community: What are the concrete tactics and techniques you’re using to deliver each of these things to your networks today?

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3 Responses so far | Have Your Say!

  1. Tahl, thank you for the post. Agree w/all the points, and have been an advocate of #2 since my college internship (my boss was a big believer in this). Do you have any success stories of employees growing a culture around these points when they are not practiced by management? I would be interested in hearing some.

  2. Solid points. And there is nothing touchy-feely about making people feel needed, wanted and appreciated. All of these points cover succinctly the basic human need to feel included. Even rogues and rebels need to belong now and again :)

  3. Great point!
    Particularly like #1 "Love" as a good expression of the sentence I repeat the most at my seminars: "try to help the people in your network!"
    Jordi
    (Networking & Business: http://www.jordi.pro/netbiz )

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