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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Network Works!, March 9, 2003
This review is from: The Frog and Prince: Secrets of Positive Networking To Change Your Life (Hardcover)
Darcy's book is terrific for pretty much everyone on the planet. Sounds, a bit much I know, but when you take into account that we all must rely to some extent on the assistance and contacts of others, then there is no better book to cover off the bases of why Networking is a crucial function to understand and master. The style is straightforward and the content easy to grasp. There really isn't any good reason NOT to follow the concepts explained in this book. For those of you who groan inside when you hear that you must attend a networking party, this book will surely help you overcome some of the notions you have about networking and what it can do for you. (And it isn't only relevant for business...no matter what you are involved in, having a strong supportive network can only help you.) Of particular interest to me was the concept of approaching networking (and in a greater sense all relationships) from the perspective of how you can help others. Darcy addresses those networking types who scour a room on the prowl for only those people who can forward their own short-term aims, and rightly characterizes these folks as short-sighted. (These people also give networking a bad name for us simple folk that are only trying to help.) The idea of seeking first what you can do to assist others with their goals is reminiscent of Mr. Covey's "Seven Habits" concept of, "Seek first to understand, then be understood." Some may think:
But what about the payoff? When will all this helping others help me? It's a shark pond out there and being nice to strangers will only be seen as a vulnerability to be taken advantage of. If you believe this, I suggest you ask every successful person you have met if they got to where they are now by themselves. The point is, we NEED each other to do neat stuff. And there is no better way to move forward with your own goals than to willingly assist others in achieving theirs. Darcy's book outlines this very clearly and concisely, and offers a lot more useful advice as well. Buy this book, read this book, and incorporate the ideas in this book into your life, and you will notice a big difference.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who Knew ? One Small Book Makes a Great BIG Difference, March 7, 2003
This review is from: The Frog and Prince: Secrets of Positive Networking To Change Your Life (Hardcover)
It is quite something when a book immediately makes a positve impact on your life. For me, it's an unexpected and pleasant surprise. Thomas A.Stewart, Editor of the Harvard Business Review, says in his book, The Wealth of Knowledge, that "Knowledge is what we do." Darcy Rezak is a wealth of knowledge, in his own right, and his message is congruent with the golden rule - "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." For Darcy, just as for Thomas Stewart, increasing knowledge involves doing something. In Darcy's case, it involves doing something nice for somebody else. I appreciate the personal anecdotes in this book especially when Darcy talks about including his daughter in a networking event (and describes the surprisingly unexpected results!). He includes practical suggestions about how to get young adults into the networked world. Just simple things, like making eye contact - what a difference that makes. I have learned so much about people by practicing this and giving people my focused attention and taking the approach that networking is about 'doing something nice.'
I have often felt I was bad at networking because I lacked the motivation to try to "get" something from the exchange. Again, I've been pleasantly surprised that with some simple skills and unique insights I feel more confident. Best of all, I feel like I can be myself. Caring more about someone else's well being than about my own gives me a different focus when I'm at a networking event. It gives me a sense of purpose. Being charged with purpose feels very different from being uncomfortably self-conscious. It's an upbeat stance that attracts people. The best part of the book is that Darcy tackles the real issue - most people HATE to network. Reading this section was a little like being in a support group for parents and suddenly discovering that the fact that I sometimes hate my acting-out teenager is a common problem and I'm more normal than I thought. Reading this book made me feel normal. It's given me skills and insight so that when I think of networking I feel charged with purpose, powerful and free to be ... me. I was so impressed I gave my copy to a freind.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Royal Ribbit, March 7, 2005
This review is from: The Frog and Prince: Secrets of Positive Networking To Change Your Life (Hardcover)
Many of those who are thinking about reading this book are already familiar with one or more of the Germanic folk tales which Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm assembled in the early 1800s. For example, Cinderella, The Frog King, Hänsel and Grethel, Little Snow-White, and Rapunzel. (The "unvarnished" versions of these and other tales are provided at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/grimm/index2.html.) Obviously, the co-authors of this book were inspired by The Frog King in which they found several important lessons which are relevant to -- but by no means limited to -- the business world. Indeed, as Tom Donohue correctly notes in the Foreword, there is "a compelling link" between successful positive networking and personal happiness.
As I read this book, I was reminded of Emanuel Rosen's observations and suggestions in The Anatomy of Buzz: How to Create Word of Mouth Marketing. In the Foreword to that book, Everett M. Rogers observes, "New products and services spread among the consumer public through interpersonal communication networks. These networks are for the most part invisible. They often operate in mysterious ways...Thus we are largely blind to this very powerful marketing process." He's right.
Presumably the co-authors of The Frog and Prince also agree. In their book, they provide a thoughtful and eloquent explanation of both the How and the Why of positive networking which is indeed "for the most part invisible" and "operate[s] in mysterious ways." Once properly understood, however, and if initiated and then sustained, positive networking is indeed a "very powerful marketing process." In Chapters 3-9, the co-authors rigorously examine this process using the acronym NETWORK. More specifically,
N: Never Leave Home Without Them
E: The Four E's -- Establish, Extend, Exchange, Engage
T: Travel in Pairs
W: Working the Pond -- Positively
O: Opportunity is Everywhere
R: Repeat, Repeat, Repeat
K: Keep It Going
It would be a disservice to the co-authors as well as to those who read this review to say more about the material in each of these chapters, except to suggest that their titles correctly indicate the principles which guide and inform the positive networking process. Also, that the principles are sound, the explanations of them are clear, and the co-authors' recommendations (i.e. HOW to apply them) are practical.
As Rosen would be the first to point out, there are two kinds of BUZZ (positive and negative) and each can have great impact. The same can be said of networking. In terms of personal as well as organizational development, each person within a given organization is (to varying degrees) its representative. Think of all of them as "messengers." Those who manifest admirable qualities and impeccable behavior deliver "positive messages." As for others who manifest contemptible qualities and unacceptable behavior, they (obviously) deliver "negative messages" and should immediately be sent packing.
In our careers as in our personal lives, most of the time, we get out of a relationship about as much as we are willing and able to invest in it. However defined, success can often be measured in terms of the number and quality of the linkages we establish and develop, indeed nourish with family members, friends, and business associates. So yes, The Frog and Prince is based on a fairy tale and offers several lessons from it that have direct relevance to the business world. I also think these same lessons suggest how participation in the positive networking process can significantly accelerate and enrich the personal development of those engaged in that process.
If you share my high regard for this book, check out Franklin's Autobiography, Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People, Hill's Think and Grow Rich, Goldman and Smythe's How to Make a Million Dollar First Impression, and Hankins' The Power of the Pitch.
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