Relationships For Keeps

This book is about creating and maintaining relationships for keeps and the work required to make them last. Some concepts and stories may depict some of the author’s personal experiences throughout his professional career and life. They are loosely based and modified to emphasize key relationship insight. It’s the story of a fictional character named Joe Lanz, a likeable and coachable guy who, desperately wanting to break free from the world of corporate bureaucracy, dreams of owning his own business. Along the way, he faces many personal and professional struggles. During his journey, Joe meets a man, Vic Lawrence, who is 30 years older than Joe, and over the years, they develop a relationship for keeps. Vic becomes a dear friend and mentor to Joe and teaches him many lessons in life, particularly about building strong, lifelong relationships.

Anyone can put themselves in Joe’s shoes at some point in their life; a business professional; a sales representative trying to grow their client base; a university student trying to build a network for future career opportunities; a partner who wrestles with an important personal relationship; or a struggling business owner who lacks the trusted network they hoped for when times are tough. Through all of our ups and downs in life, the people we have meaningful relationships with are key to helping us move forward and grow. If you are in business, think of the clients you have a very solid relationship with. Ask yourself “Why is that relationship so strong?” Maybe you don’t have quite the same solid relationship with other clients. What can you do to change that? What about your closest friends and connections? Ask yourself “Why are we so close?” Do you really listen, share personal feelings, and build vulnerability-based trust with them? Who else can be drawn in closer to your circle that you can help, or who, in turn, may be able to support you? Relationships can make all the difference!

Foreword

Not that long ago, I learned firsthand that when you start building relationships instead of collecting them, you become more successful in both life and business. This powerful eye-opening lesson transformed my entire life. Literally!

That’s why when Mike asked me to write the foreword for this book, demonstrating the power of personal connections in achieving life and business success, I immediately accepted. Over the years, I have become an avid student of relationship building. I studied the required elements of forming strong, mutually- beneficially relationships, particularly online. Whether you interact with your connections face-to-face or through a digital tool such as LinkedIn, time and consistency are vital to building lasting relationships. I have also found reciprocity to be a necessary component, especially online.

This is NOT the gimmicky marketing type of reciprocity, and it’s not a fad. I am referring to real reciprocity in relationships, mostly symbolic in nature, that signals our desire to engage in social relations with others. Reciprocity is about our need to be seen and recognized by others. It is through this action of reciprocity, recognizing others and being recognized by them in return, that we build relationships.

In this book, Mike examines in detail three key components of relationship building: like, respect, and trust. These elements will help you engage in reciprocity in meaningful ways and build long-lasting personal and professional relationships. Through his heartwarming story of Joe and the many mentors he meets and friendships he makes along the way, Mike lays out the blueprint you can follow to begin building your own relationships that will ensure your future success and enrich your life.

—Melonie Dodaro, #1 Bestselling Author of LinkedIn Unlocked; LinkedIn for Students, Graduates, and Educators; LinkedIn for Sales; and The LinkedIn Code