– the book: Amazon bestseller The Relationship Engine: Connecting with the People Who Power Your Business, an instructive book about developing valuable, sustaining business relationships
– the brain: Ed Wallace, President and Chief Relationship Officer of The Relational Capital Group, a consulting firm that bring expertise in leadership, sales, account management and customer service to clients around the world — and perhaps the ultimate Relational Leader (read on to find out what that means)
– the best bits: The Relationship Engine is comprised of three parts: strategy, application, and tools.
- Strategy — Ed starts off by introducing The Five Principles of the Relational Leader. Here’s where he explains the meaning and importance of terms including Worthy Intent, Relationship Superiority Complex, Relationship GPS, and Relational Leader. “A Relational Leader is anyone who intentionally puts the other person’s goals and values at the forefront of each business relationship, creating an exceptional experience for others.“
- Application — The book then shows how to apply the strategies and concepts of the relationship engine by categorizing relationships as colleagues, professional peers, and advocates; and walking through the development and implementation of a Relationship Plan. Ed uses a hypothetical case study involving a manager named Jason and outlines the four steps he takes with people in each kind of relationship: 1. Determine your goals. 2. Attach goals to real people and their relationship dimension. 3. Develop strategies for each relationship. 4. Implement by using the Relational Agility Process for launching, advancing or elevating your important business relationships
- Tools — Ed ends by explaining the RQ Assessment (that is, Relationship Quotient, like IQ and EQ). There’s even a link to where you can take the assessment for free and assess the high and low potential of specific relationships you have. The book concludes with a summary in the form of Five Steps to Transform Contacts into High-Performing Business Relationships that follow:
- Establish Common Ground: launch the relationship
- Display Integrity and Trust: secure the relationship
- Use Time Purposefully: invest in the relationship
- Offer Help: share relational equity
- Ask for Help: realize returns on your investment
There a lots of thought-provoking ideas throughout the book, from the more factual or tangible:
“Seventy-eight percent of professionals overestimate the strength of their business relationships.”
“The best relationships are working at only 45 percent of their potential.”
“When planning client meetings, I think about the acronym “POP,” which stands for purpose, outcomes and process.”
To the more strategic or philosophical:
“Relational Leaders leave nothing to chance when they focus on the relationships that will most impact their performance.”
“Authenticity is the most difficult quality to demonstrate due to the degree of bravery it requires for us at times to be our unvarnished selves.”
“Purpose pulls profits along the way a horse pulls a cart.”
– the bottom line: The Relationship Engine is a must-read for anyone whose success relies on working with other people — and that’s pretty much everyone — so I highly recommend it.
Listen to my conversation with Ed to learn:
- why our relationships are only working at 45% of their potential
- what is the key to Worthy Intent
- how you can better create trust relationships
Check out:
Other Brand Book Bites:
- Zingerman’s A Lapsed Anarchist’s Approach to the Power of Beliefs in Business by Ari Weinzweig
- Procrastinate on Purpose by Rory Vaden
- Dare to Serve by Cheryl Bachelder
The post brand book bites: the relationship engine appeared first on Denise Lee Yohn.
