Customer Reviews

The Frog and Prince: Secrets of Positive Networking To Change Your Life

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I once met a man at a networking event who was wearing a t-shirt that read, "BUT WHAT CAN YOU DO FOR ME?" If only Darcy Rezac had been in the room that night! Many of us have been guilty of approaching a networking opportunity or new business relationship with a "what's in it for me?" attitude. Darcy's "what can I do for you?" approach, is professional, civilized and makes common sense. I have always considered myself to be an enthusiastic and seasoned networker, but Darcy's secrets are insightful, invaluable and very effective. I now carry a small stack of eye-friendly, business cards (sans stylish card case) in my left jacket pocket. I avoid the back of the Pond and keep an eye out for hoverers. I even have a Tag-teammate! I'm looking forward to my next encounter with the frog-in-the-t-shirt. "What can you do for me?" he asks. Well let me tell you about this book I read ....

I am a critical care nurse, networking is not really a part of my job, but when I read "The Frog and Prince" I realized how positive networking is a "life skill", a skill one can never know or practice too much. The attitude and energy of "What can I do for you" is life affirming for both the giver and receiver.
This book has helped me to take my skills as a nurse-healer into all facets of my life whether I be at a party, meeting or on a bus. Thanks to Darcy, Gayle and Judy for such great information provided in such a palatable form.

I found The Frog and Prince: Secrets of Positive Networking to Change Your Life, to be a common sense, quick, intelligent, and informative read, liberally sprinkled with anecdotal and amusing tales of a real networker, who has logged more time in that arena than most of us will change our socks!
I particularly liked the concise summaries at the chapters' ends'. And the "nuggets" tucked here and there, are a fun touch.
This is a great textbook for ordinary folk, as well as big corporations honing their sales staff, or executives for that matter, looking to improve communicating skills.
Good book!

I considered giving this book only 4 stars, because it occurred to me that the authors don't live in my world, instead they live in a world where people don't do anything else but jet around the world and network with each other - whereas the furthest I've travelled in my job is Chatswood, a few stops further along the railway line.

But then I thought, that possibly a reflection of differences between Australian culture and the field of work that I'm in (I.T., where people are notoriously insular). I also thought that if they can manage to create relationships like that and have so much fun, then best of luck to them... who am I to hold it against them? Plus, they would obviously know what they're talking about in regard to networking.

So I gave it 5 stars on the basis that the authors have put together a witty and fun book that somehow did wonders for my networking *confidence* - and lets face it, the only person whose attitude you can change is yourselves. And somehow this book managed to do this.

Darcy enlightens you as he empowers you to Network in a positive manner by passing on his wealth of knowledge and experience regarding Networking.
The book has personally helped me develop more business for our business.
Thank you Darcy.

I'm a convert. Probably THE key point for me was the correct attitude - cultivating meaningful relationships and providing real benefit to those with whom we establish relationships. Before I read the book, I saw 'networking' as nothing more than self promotion and using others exclusively for selfish ends. Of course, for many people, that's exactly what it is all about. I now understand that those people don't get it. Neither did I. I really should have known better. Thank you for putting words to what I have seen successful people doing for the last 20 years.

You just may have a monster hit on your hands.

THE FROG AND PRINCE: Secrets of Positive Networking is a good, fun, valuable read. Most "popular" business books are either so deadly dull they're unpalatable, or so patently devoid of substance as to be laughable. THE FROG AND PRINCE accomplishes what many attempt but very few achieve: it is a book chock full of useful, germane information, and it is appealing and engaging. One can't help but want to turn the page, and in the process of turning each page, learn more about the art and science of positive networking. Like a candy-coated vitamin, it's good for you, but it's so tasty, you don't even notice that it's something beneficial - it's just plain good!!! THE FROG AND PRINCE's format sets out the multiple steps/stages of positive networking in logical, easy-to-build-upon chapters. The authors' engaging style and frequent use of frog/prince stories is, at first, deceptively simple. Only after putting the book down for a while does its true beauty and mastery of its subject become more obvious. I found myself - at business lunches, charity dinners, work meetings, social gatherings, and even in my veterinarian's waiting room - thinking about networking, but in a different way than I had ever viewed it. In this essential respect, THE FROG AND PRINCE is both successful and unique. The book presents networking from a different perspective: what can I do for someone else - to enhance their business success, personal achievements, or perhaps just their sense of well-being at the moment?? By emphasizing the "other person", and always taking the positive road, networking seems like something altogether new in THE FROG AND PRINCE. In just the few weeks since I read this book, I find I've already incorporated - both consciously and unconsciously - some of the book's myriad tips (many of the most salient ideas are succinctly highlighted as "Nuggets" - and they are!!) into multiple facets of my life. This is where the book truly delivers: it enables the reader to see networking as a positive for all aspects of interaction, and not the dreaded business duty it formerly - before THE FROG AND PRINCE - was considered. THE FROG AND PRINCE provides information and insights valuable for every area of life, not just business. This is an exceptional book, full of spirit and substance, that can't help but enhance the reader's life.