Strategic Connections: The New Face of Networking in a Collaborative World

Take networking to the next level.

Today’s organizations are collaborative. With old command-and-control methods replaced by openness and transparency, networking has become an essential professional skill—expected of everyone, at every level.

Unveiling eight indispensable competencies for the new Network-Oriented Workforce, Strategic Connections provides practical advice for building better, more productive business relationships. Readers will discover how to:

Commit to a positive, proactive networking mindset • Align networking activities with individual and organizational objectives • Leverage their contacts by organizing them into strategic groups • Earn trust—a prerequisite for collaboration • Boost their social acumen and increase their likeability • Master conversational skills and deepen interactions • Employ storytelling to make communications memorable • Use networking to deliver value to the company

Thanks to technology, new contacts are only a click away. But the level of connection and collaboration required for real success demands advanced face-to-face relationship-building skills. This book gives you the tools you need to meet goals, execute strategies, foster innovation, and make yourself invaluable to your organization.

About the Authors

Baber, Waymon, Alphonso, and Wylde are collaborators at Contacts Count LLC, an international training and consulting firm that specializes in business networking.

Their unique approach uses The 8 Competencies for the Network-Oriented Workplace™ to help clients profit from the changes facing organizations that are moving from a command-and-control mode to a more participative and engaged way of working. Contacts Count's training programs, keynotes, workshops, and webinars show organizations how to harness the power of individual employee networks to impact enterprise-wide goals such as strategy execution, innovation, engagement, and competitiveness.

Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon, of Newtown, Pennsylvania, cofounded the firm 24 years ago and are the coauthors of seven earlier books that help people put the tools of networking to work in the service of business goals. Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Business and Career Success, now in its second edition, has been a best seller in the business and career world.

André Alphonso, based in Sydney, manages Contacts Count's business in Australia, India, and Asia. He has more than 30 years of business and consulting experience and specializes in training and organizational development. André has held executive-level positions with Forum Corporation and Unisys.

Jim Wylde, of Arlington, Virginia, is an organizational development specialist, a leadership coach, an experienced facilitator, and a seasoned Certified Contacts Count Trainer. He works with U.S. and international audiences. Jim speaks Spanish and holds a degree in international affairs with concentrations in Latin American studies and international development.