A practical guide to creating, sustaining, and benefiting from a network, this non-fiction book by Diane Darling is one of the quickest introductions to networking backed by anecdotes and social principles.
What surprised me the most about reading The Networking Survival Guide is how succinct the content is.
There’s no fluff, no beating around the bushes. The author gets to the point quickly. In fact, most of the sections are full of bullet points.
While I hadn’t given networking much thought prior to this, I picked up the audiobook on Storytel to see how it could improve my professional life. And I must say that Diane Darling shares some great advice.
There were a couple of chapters that I felt warranted a bit more of an explanation. And some that had information which may no longer be as relevant in today’s professional sphere. But to be fair, I read the 2nd edition of the book which was published a few years ago.
Some topics that you can expect to read about are conducting network inventories, mannerisms, providing value to your connections, seeking referrals, navigating events, creating networking assets/ collaterals, and so on.
I’d say this was a great first book to read about networking.
I most definitely intend to get an ebook copy, so I can make notes and re-read this a bunch of times, and implement the actionable tips Diane Darling shares.
Are there any other books on networking that you would recommend to me?
The Life Stories 