Keith Ferrazzi Quotes

At every stage of my career, I sought out the most influential people around me and asked for their help and guidance.

Wherever you are in life right now, and whatever you know, is a result of the ideas, experiences, and people you have interacted with in your life,

A network functions precisely because there’s recognition of mutual need. There’s an implicit understanding that investing time and energy in building personal relationships with the right people will pay dividends. The majority of “one percenters” are in that top stratum because they understand this dynamic — because, in fact, they themselves used the power of their network of contacts and friends to arrive at their present station.

If I’m going to take the time to meet with somebody, I’m going to try to make that person successful. But David kept score. He saw every social encounter in terms of diminishing returns. For him, there was only so much goodwill available in a relationship and only so much collateral and equity to burn. What he didn’t understand was that it’s the exercising of equity that builds equity. That’s the big “aha” that David never seemed to have learned.

Who you know determines who you are — how you feel, how you act, and what you achieve.

There’s no better way to learn something, and become an expert at it, than to have to teach it.

1. State the situation. “You go right in and hit them with how you see it in the cold light of day, without being too inflammatory or dramatic,” says Rosenberg. She made it clear to the A.M.A. that (a) having no women speakers was wrong, and (b) hiring her would be a step in the right direction. It makes sense that before you can speak persuasively — that is, before you speak from a position of passion and personal knowledge — you need to know where you stand. 2. Communicate your feelings. We downplay the influence of emotions in our day-to-day contacts, especially in the business world. We’re told that vulnerability is a bad thing and we should be wary of revealing our feelings. But as we gain comfort using “I feel” with others, our encounters take on depth and sincerity. Your emotions are a gift of respect and caring to your listeners. 3. Deliver the bottom line. This is the moment of truth when you state, with utter clarity, what it is you want. If you’re going to put your neck on the line, you’d better know why. The truth is the fastest route to a solution, but be realistic. While I knew Phil Knight of Nike wasn’t going to buy anything based on one five-minute conversation on a bus in Davos, Switzerland, I did make sure to get his e-mail and tell him that I’d like to follow up with him again sometime. Then I did so. 4. Use an open-ended question. A request that is expressed as a question — one that cannot be answered by a yes or no — is less threatening. How do you feel about this? How can we solve this problem? The issue has been raised, your feelings expressed, your desires articulated. With an open-ended suggestion or question, you invite the other person to work toward a solution with you. I didn’t insist on a specific lunch date at a specific time with Phil. I left it open and didn’t allow our first exchange to be weighted down by unnecessary obligations

our shared mission. Collaboration: We will collaborate, not sell each other on our ideas or bleed into consensus. We will be insatiably curious while breaking through to new levels of innovation. We will respectfully challenge the other’s ideas and provide the candid feedback on the mission to attain better outcomes. Development: We commit to helping each other develop our skill sets and/or behaviors so our performance improves. We give each other permission to trust our instincts and to give the candid feedback the other person needs to hear so we can grow. Speak truth: We will speak the truth in service of the mission and each other. We give each other permission to trust our instincts and give feedback and candor when needed. We will see and receive such candor in service of each other because we care about each other’s success. No victims: Nothing will stand in the way of our transformation. We will divorce ourselves from

Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter,

We human beings are social beings. We come into the world as the result of others’ actions. We survive here in dependence on others. Whether we like it or not, there is hardly a moment of our lives when we do not benefit from others’ activities. For this reason, it is hardly surprising that most of our happiness arises in the context of our relationships with others. — the Dalai Lama

There is only one place to find real peace, real harmony. That place is within,

The future is dynamic and not fully in your control. Celebrate that fact instead of fighting it, and life gets a lot more interesting.

(1) create a company-approved project that will force you to learn new skills and introduce you to new people within your company; (2) take on leadership positions in the hobbies and outside organizations that interest you; (3) join your local alumni club and spend time with people who are doing the jobs you’d like to be doing; (4) enroll in a class at a community college on a subject that relates to either the job you’re doing now or a job you see yourself doing in the future.

One article creates visibility, which in turn puts you in front of other journalists, creating the possibility of more articles and visibility.

There's nothing more satisfying than making someplace look like someplace else and nobody knows the difference.