BUSINESS NETWORKING SIMPLIFIED

A serviceable addition to the crowded field of how-to-network guides.

There is no shortage of business networking books on the shelves, but Les Garnas' contribution to the genre can claim its place among them. The book offers a solid collection of advice for building connections in the professional world, as well as a rationale for looking at every interaction with friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers as an opportunity to establish building blocks for career advancement. The book benefits from Garnas' frequent use of concrete examples, many drawn from his own experience, that illustrate the potential upside of making useful connections in the world of business. One notable strength of the book is its focus on the need for networking relationships to be beneficial to all parties. Garnas refers to the reader's colleagues as “networking partners,” and the theme of partnership – in contrast to begging for or demanding favors – runs throughout the book. Readers are encouraged to find ways to provide as much value as possible to their networking partners, through everything from forwarding relevant articles to introducing a purchasing manager to a potential vendor so they can bring about a valuable contract. Although Garnas packs quite a bit of information into a thin volume, introverts may not find his approach to networking practical or particularly useful to them. The book's advice is more appropriate for those who, like Garnas, would rather share a table with a stranger than eat alone in a restaurant. The book concludes with a series of case studies and suggested exercises that put the techniques and principles discussed in the text to work. QR codes at the end of each case study direct the reader to additional commentary on the author's website.

A useful handbook for those who want to build mutually beneficial relationships in a business context.