Relationship Currency


“I don’t need to go out of my way to build relationships, I just let my work speak for me.” 
We think that our performance is enough to pay us dividends. Wrong! Establishing a strong personal & professional network will let us stay updated & gain access to info., resources & people we may not otherwise never have.
Carla Harris in STRATEGIZE TO WIN, states that building relationships is more important than our performance on the job. Relationship currency can be acquired by taking deliberate steps to share ideas & work with people on a project. We must intentionally reach out with frequency.
Let’s take MARIA DAS GRACAS SILVA FOSTER, the CEO of Petrobras. In 1998 while working as a chemical engineer at Petrobas she met DILMA ROUSSEF, who'll later become the Pres. of Brazil. It’s through her professional ties with her that she held various critical positions, then on 2012, she was appointed to the board & became CEO of Petrobas.
Set aside the scandals in the later years, what we need to focus on is the power of networking. Though Foster already have the ability to succeed, however, her rose to power cannot be attributed to her alone. It’s when she learned to leverage on the relationships she had that such currency paid her well.

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