Networking for People Who Hate Networking: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed and the Underconnected

By Shimon Ullman

Would you rather get a root canal than schmooze with a bunch of strangers? Does the phrase "working a room" make you want to retreat to yours? Is small talk a big problem? Devora Zack used to be just like you--in fact, she still is. But she's also a successful consultant who addresses thousands of people each year, and she didn't change her personality to do it. Quite the contrary. Zack politely examines and then smashes to tiny fragments the "dusty old rules" of standard networking advice. You don't have to become a backslapping extrovert or even learn how to fake it. Incredible as it seems, the very traits that make you hate networking can be harnessed to forge an approach even more effective than traditional techniques. It's a different kind of networking--and it works. Networking enables you to accomplish the goals that are most important to you. But you can't adopt a style that isn't true to who you are. "I have never met a person who did not benefit tremendously from learning how to network--on his or her own terms," Zack writes. "You do not succeed by denying your natural temperament; you succeed by working with your strengths." This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1605095222
• ISBN13: 9781605095226
• Release Date: July 2010
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 169 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Helpful even for extroverts

Highly recommend...lots of practical ideas and easy to read. Even as an extrovert I found it very helpful!

Networking that Works for You

The first thing to know is that this book is just fun to read. Laugh-out-loud funny, that does nothing to disguise the the dozens of practical tips the book offers with direct application to the reader's own networking goals. For example, Devora Zack mentions something I figured out on my own: when you're on an airplane, offer your seatmate a stick of your gum. Amazing things happen. It's an eample of what a little networking...

Funny and Practical

I really enjoyed reading this book. Not many business books are both entertaining and fun to read. Devora has a great sense of humor and some very good advice.

Love this author!

Devora Zack is incredible! This was a delight to read and gave me a lot of practical advice. I am walking away with tangible steps to help me step out of my quiet self! This is a must for anyone that dreads office parties, networking lunches and all those other awkward moments where you need to talk with people. This book is a gem and I can't wait for her next book to come out!

The anti-schmooz, anti-sleaze guide to networking

When was the last time you read a business book that combined intellectual rigor, immense practicality and uproarious humor? If it's been a while (like forever) since you've read a book like that, buy this one. Devora Zack completely redefines networking - both how we think about it and what it takes to succeed at it. She backs her ideas up with encyclopedic wisdom, ranging from neuroscience to philosphy to, well, the Lemonheads...