Never Eat Alone
Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time
by Keith Ferrazzi and Tahl Raz
PRO:
- Easy to read and very personable.
- Illustrates points with personal stories.
- Presents both big and small picture views.
CONS:
- No real major flaws.
SUMMARY: The classic book on networking that is a classic for a reason. A Must Buy.
"Never Eat Alone" is one of those books in the pantheon of career books that everyone says you must read, but few do. So I figured a review is in order to remind people to read it.
"Never Eat Alone"'s thesis is pretty simple: Networking and connecting is the way to success. It's a sentence-long bit of wisdom we've all heard before.
Where "Never Eat Alone" shines is that it talks about why this is true, and how people can network better – and enjoy it. Best of all, it does this in a fun, friendly, highly readable style that makes the book go surprisingly quickly. Ferazzi has a writing style worthy of a good fiction writer, moving things along quickly yet giving you everything you need.
This "storytelling" style of his is literally storytelling – he's not interested in many cold statistics or abstracts. Instead he tells stories, about himself, friends, and other noteworthy people that inform the reader. Through these stories, he illustrates the power of networking, and techniques for networking that are effective yet easily understood.
Each chapter focuses on one main subject about networking or a related subject, explaining the subject and related techniques, often with personal stories or advice, and with examples from other individuals. These divisions of subject aren't particularly distinct, giving the book a freewheeling feel that helps keep the subject from being onerous.
One fair warning: you're not going to use everything because there is so much, and you'll need to ask what is relevant or important to you. That's a small critique, but it is important to keep in mind that the author lets you decide what's important. This book won't solve all your networking problems without your participation.
This is simply a must read, must-own book for any person who wants to get things done in life. Go buy it.
– Steven Savage