The WhatsApp acquisition by Facebook and the Twenty-Third Law of Relationships
Facebook’s $19 billion acquisition of WhatsApp underscores something I’ve believed for a long time: that notwithstanding social media’s ability to connect us with thousands of contacts, we ultimately gravitate towards a small handful of deep, meaningful relationships at work and at home.
About Facebook’s latest move, The New York Times wrote , “Weary of noisy social networks filled with mundane updates from the most remote acquaintances, millions of people have turned to their smartphone address books…for more intimate social connections.” The article goes on to say, “Facebook is betting that the future of social networking will depend not just on broadcasting to the masses but also the ability to quickly and efficiently communicate with your family and closest confidants.”
This idea is encapsulated in Law Twenty-Three from my new book, Power Relationships :To succeed, you need a small group of people who trust you, believe in you, and are committed to you—not hundreds of superficial contacts. I’ve interviewed and surveyed thousands of professionals on this subject, and they invariably point to 20 or 25 critical relationships that really made a difference in their careers. And, these were also people that they were able to make a difference to.
Ask yourself: who will go out of their way to endorse you and introduce you to their network? Who will drop what they are doing and help you when you are in need? Who will tell others that they’ve never known someone as trustworthy and talented as you? For these things, you need a handful of great relationships, not hundreds of superficial “friends” or contacts.
Do you know a small group of people who will walk through a wall for you? Perhaps, more importantly, are you willing to put yourself on the line for them ? Have you given them your unwavering loyalty? Make sure you have loyalists, not just acquaintances.
In your professional life, how many truly important relationships do you think you have? Leave a comment, below:
*****
My new book has just been published. Click here to get a copy of Power Relationships now on Amazon.com , and you can then download the 90-page Power Relationships Personal Planning Guide I wrote for my readers for free.
More Articles
Finish this Year Well and Start Strong in January
Fall can be an achingly beautiful season, but it can also be a pressure cooker if you serve clients. In this last quarter of the calendar year, you need to finish well, regardless of when you close your fiscal year. At the same time, you need to prepare the foundations for a successful start of the […]
Read article
Seven Relationship Lies—and Rules to Replace Them on Valentine’s Day
I usually write strictly about professional relationships, but today, I want to share seven Valentine’s Day lies—and the relationship rules to replace them. Our culture promotes many misleading ideas about what makes for successful personal or romantic relationships. Popular concepts like the need to “just be yourself” or “move on if your needs aren’t being […]
Read article
Ten Questions to Ask Your Clients Every Year
A client of mine dodged death twice. The first instance involved serendipitously avoiding what turned out to be an infamous plane crash caused by a terrorist bomb. The second time had to do with a seemingly innocuous spot on his arm. It looked like a odd-shaped mole, and he ignored it. As the CEO of […]
Read article
Earning Clients for Life as a Trusted Advisor
Competition, commoditization, client sophistication, and transparent markets mean that few services can be truly differentiated in their own right. Strong, enduring client relationships, therefore, are the lifeblood of most organizations. Long term relationships serve another key function in today’s tumultuous markets: they reduce risk for both clients and service providers. It’s not easy, however, to […]
Read article
Involve Your Clients in the Account Planning Process
In working with many client teams on account planning, I’ve learned that there really is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The planning process and the tenor of your discussions for an existing multi-million-dollar, mature client relationship will be different from that for a relatively new client that is currently quite small. Broadly speaking, the following elements […]
Read article
The Characteristics and Roles of Successful Client Relationship Managers
What are the essential roles of a client relationship manager? And what skills does he or she need to possess in order to fulfill these roles? Having studied tens of thousands of partners, managing directors, account executives, and other client-facing professionals in service firms around the world, I have identified six key roles for relationship […]
Read article
Four Key Ways to Add Value for Time in Client Meetings
When you meet with a senior executive, there’s one factor that usually determine
Read article
Jerry Panas and Thanksgiving Blessings
Read Jerry Panas’ encouraging Thanksgiving exhortation, below. It’s for every day, not just Thanksgiving. And, read about why he had such an impact in the world: My coauthor for two books (Power Questions and Power Relationships), Jerry was arguably the single most influential and successful consultant to philanthropy and the nonprofit world in the last […]
Read article
Finish this Year Well and Start Strong in January
Fall can be an achingly beautiful season, but it can also be a pressure cooker if you serve clients. In this last quarter of the calendar year, you need to finish well, regardless of when you close your fiscal year. At the same time, you need to prepare the foundations for a successful start of the […]
Read article
Seven Relationship Lies—and Rules to Replace Them on Valentine’s Day
I usually write strictly about professional relationships, but today, I want to share seven Valentine’s Day lies—and the relationship rules to replace them. Our culture promotes many misleading ideas about what makes for successful personal or romantic relationships. Popular concepts like the need to “just be yourself” or “move on if your needs aren’t being […]
Read article
Ten Questions to Ask Your Clients Every Year
A client of mine dodged death twice. The first instance involved serendipitously avoiding what turned out to be an infamous plane crash caused by a terrorist bomb. The second time had to do with a seemingly innocuous spot on his arm. It looked like a odd-shaped mole, and he ignored it. As the CEO of […]
Read article
Earning Clients for Life as a Trusted Advisor
Competition, commoditization, client sophistication, and transparent markets mean that few services can be truly differentiated in their own right. Strong, enduring client relationships, therefore, are the lifeblood of most organizations. Long term relationships serve another key function in today’s tumultuous markets: they reduce risk for both clients and service providers. It’s not easy, however, to […]
Read article
Involve Your Clients in the Account Planning Process
In working with many client teams on account planning, I’ve learned that there really is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. The planning process and the tenor of your discussions for an existing multi-million-dollar, mature client relationship will be different from that for a relatively new client that is currently quite small. Broadly speaking, the following elements […]
Read article
The Characteristics and Roles of Successful Client Relationship Managers
What are the essential roles of a client relationship manager? And what skills does he or she need to possess in order to fulfill these roles? Having studied tens of thousands of partners, managing directors, account executives, and other client-facing professionals in service firms around the world, I have identified six key roles for relationship […]
Read article
Four Key Ways to Add Value for Time in Client Meetings
When you meet with a senior executive, there’s one factor that usually determine
Read article
Jerry Panas and Thanksgiving Blessings
Read Jerry Panas’ encouraging Thanksgiving exhortation, below. It’s for every day, not just Thanksgiving. And, read about why he had such an impact in the world: My coauthor for two books (Power Questions and Power Relationships), Jerry was arguably the single most influential and successful consultant to philanthropy and the nonprofit world in the last […]
Read article
