Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM JULY 2014 14 B O O K R E V I E W T here are powerful laws that determine the success or failure of your relationships both at work and at home. Just as an airplane must respect the laws of physics in order to fly, your behaviors must align with the Relationship Laws if you want to build the connections you need for success. These Laws are unseen but ever-present. When you follow them, the results are dramatic. Your network will grow rapidly. You'll be seen by customers and colleagues as a trusted partner. And you'll find the people around you eager to help you succeed. When you ignore the Laws, however, it's like going against the grain. Relationship building will seem like very hard work—even fruitless. Power Relationships gives readers a unique, entertaining guide to relationship success. Each of the 26 laws is illustrated and explained using a compelling, real-life story that shows how to implement it. The second section of the book presents 16 common relationship challenges with specific solutions. You'll read about: • The biggest misconception about how to impress others, and the Relationship Law that can help you avoid this pitfall: Power relationships are based on great conversations, not one person showing the other how much they know. • The top Citigroup executive whose relationship with a CEO was changed forever on a business trip that exploded into chaos, and how you can use the same principle to deepen your own relationships: Change the environment, and you'll strengthen the relationship. • The philanthropist who, on the verge of being mugged in a dark parking lot, learns how his actions have had an unimaginable ripple effect across several generations. This Law highlights a quality that will help you super-charge your network: Generosity. • How one of the authors flew halfway around the world and used Law 18—"Make them curious"—to turn a make-or-break, five-minute meeting with a top executive into a long-term relationship. • The chance encounter on an airplane with a famous actor that revealed a simple but profound truth. It's Law 25: Build your network before you need it. In Power Relationships you'll meet famous entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, phil- anthropists, and an array of everyday people. Each of them teaches us something extraordinary about how to build the enduring, fulfilling relationships that help us succeed. Power Relationships is a unique, road-tested guide to relationship success. POWER RELATIONSHIPS: 26 Irrefutable Laws for Building Extraordinary Relationships Coauthors: Andrew Sobel and Jerold Panas. Sobel (author of Clients for Life, All for One, and Power Questions (with Panas) and Panas (author of Asking and Supremely Successful Selling) have sold over half a million books and are the leading authorities in their field. Andrew is the leading authority on client relationships and the skills and strategies required to earn enduring client loyalty. Jerold is the world's leading consultant in philanthropy and the CEO of Jerold Panas, Linzy & Partners. Publisher: Wiley, 2014 Also available: the accompanying workbook, Power Relationships Personal Planning Guide (available at www.andrewsobel.com). RO Andrew Sobel Jerold Panas

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