Competitive edge in the industrial era was won by constantly reengineering process and systems. Today it’s won by improving relationships. - Keith Ferrazzi

If it takes more than ten seconds to pitch your content, a television producer will assume you won’t be able to get your point of view across to an impatient audience. And a reporter might try to hustle you off the phone. Learn to be brief — in both your written and phone pitches. Brevity is cherished in the media.

What will be the legacy of your own quilt? How will you be remembered? These questions are potent measuring sticks for anyone who cares about making a difference, not just making a living.

Identify the people in your industries who always seem to be out in front, and use all the relationship skills you've acquired to connect with them. Take them to lunch. Read their newsletters. In fact, read everything you can. Online, there are hundreds of individuals distilling information, analyzing it, and making prognos-tications. These armchair analysts are the eyes and ears of innovation. Now get online and read, read, read. Subscribe to magazines, buy books, and talk to the smartest people you can find. Eventually, all this knowledge will build on itself, and you'll start making connections others aren't.