Relationship Economics

What's the most valuable asset you or your business possesses? Is it your physical resources? Your intellectual properties? Your workforce? Your skills and knowledge?

All are important aspects of business success. But you can't get the most advantage from any one of them if you don't make the right strategic investments in your relationships. Relationship Economics takes a unique and strategic view of business relationships as a platform for long-term business growth and success. This goes far beyond simplistic "networking" or the exchange of business cards. Thinking strategically about business relationships is a proven way to move your business or career forward.

Based on interviews with more than 1,000 managers, directors, and executives from a wide range of companies, Relationship Economics reveals that success comes from investing in people for extraordinary returns. It introduces new concepts in relationship management, including the exchange of Relationship Currency, the accumulation of Reputation Capital, and the building of Professional Net Worth. These are the fundamental qualities and measures of busi-ness relationships, and once you understand them, you'll be able to turn your contacts into better execution, performance, and results.

Many of us are so busy we forget to take the time to build and nurture the key relationships that lead to long-term success. Relationship Economics turns business relationships into quantifiable variables based on proven concepts from the fields of business development and process optimization. You'll learn to develop the three major types of relationships—personal, functional, and strategic—and how to gain the most opportunity and value from each.

Relationship Economics isn't about taking advantage of friends or coworkers to get ahead. It's about building and maximizing relationships for a better career and a better life. In business and in life, nothing is more important than the company you keep.