Who Are Your Critical Enablers?

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: Well Connected: An Unconventional Approach to Building Genuine, Effective Business Relationships

Competencies: career development, sales, achievement orientation, managing relationships, building strategic relationships, collaboration, engenders trust

Who benefits: any person not satisfied with the status quo

Consultant Usage: highly recommended for consultant self-development and business building

What’s it about?  Today’s post is short and sweet.  I was mostly thinking about job seekers when I began reading this book.  However, the book has multiple uses. 

The book cover sums up the book very well: “In today’s uncertain business environment, the best way to succeed is through partnerships—with colleagues, with vendors, with competitors, with anyone who might share a common goal and can help build mutual success. Such partnerships require strong, meaningful relationships. In other words, these relationships require that you become well connected.”

There are several things to like about this book.  First, there are a number of success stories for the reader to learn from.  Second, there is considerable amount of spaced devoted to “critical enablers”.  Critical enablers are those folks who really can make a difference in helping you reach your goal.

The most unusual aspect of the book is the clear focus on not broadly expanding your network but focusing your attention on finding and developing a close relationship with the critical few who can help you get your next job, big sale, right vendor ….

With the right people identified, the key then becomes the establishment of a relationship that is mutually beneficial. 

Sounds simple.  My experience suggests that not a lot of people really “get it.”  You will know those who don’t get it.  They are the ones who cynically claim “It’s all politics.”  Of course it is.  Thing is, anyone can play.

If you are starting out, going up, expanding wide you could save yourself a lot of time and effort by understanding what is in this book.

Catch you later.

[tags]critical enablers, well connected, business relationships, career development, sales, achievement orientation, managing relationships, bill bradley, william bradley, bradley[/tags]

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.