It’s Who You Know is a book written by Janine Garner that focuses on the power of networking and connections. The book provides strategies and insights on how to build, manage, and leverage a network of 12 key people to fast-track success.
It also emphasizes the importance of relationships, collaboration, and authenticity in networking and provides real-life examples and case studies to illustrate its points. The book has received positive reviews for its practical advice and easy-to-follow approach to networking.
Balancer
Your balancer keeps everything aligned and in check. They force you to attach your own oxygen mask before you see anyone else’s. The key word for a balancer is self-care. They understand that any kind of success relies on a healthy balance between personal and professional goals.
Explorer Contd.
An explorer isn’t interested in what everyone else thinks. They want to know what you think and are excited about the road less traveled and the thoughts less considered. They will force you to remove the lens of normality and replace it with the lens of opportunity.
They want you to become more, and they will courageously and fearlessly carve out previously unknown options for you to consider to achieve your ultimate goal.
Mentor
You are never too good to need a mentor. They provide advice and guidance. A Mentor is empowering and enabling, pure and simple.
Whether in a formal or an informal arrangement, mentors are crucial to your growth and success. They guide and inspire your career choices, providing wisdom to keep you on track and inspired.
Accelerator
The Accelerator makes things happen and accepts no excuses for inaction. Most of us think long and hard about what we want to achieve. We think, and we think, and we think. We think so hard that we eventually think ourselves out of action. If we’re not thinking about it, we’re discussing it. We discuss the idea, product, or concept until we’re blue in the face.
. Your Accelerator grabs procrastination by its ankles and hurls it out of the window. They push you and prod you to make decisions, to stick to plans, to do what you said you were going to do.
Inspirer
Inspiration is the power of possibility. When you spend time with someone who inspires you, they light a fire within you, fuel your dreams, and energise you to do more, take on more, and become more. We’ve all heard the saying “enthusiasm is contagious’, and it’s true.
An inspirer’s energy, passion for what they do, courage, and self-belief really are infectious.
Lover
Your lover’s primary focus and concern is you and your wellbeing.
However, although it’s tempting to nominate a significant other in this role, it is recommended that you don’t. Sure, you’ll always have special people there who look after and support you personally, but they don’t always need or want to listen to everything that’s happening in your day-to-day work. This can actually put pressure on our most valued personal relationships.
The Premise: 12 People in your network
Former US president Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, “I’m not the smartest fellow in the world, but I can sure pick smart colleagues.” Get control of your network, and you will change your game, make the impossible possible, and achieve your goals. You will find it easier to connect to people with ideas and dreams and to convert those ideas and dreams into action.
A quality network of 12 will allow you to build your future strategically, leverage opportunities, mutually exchange value, and accelerate you towards inspirational thinking and exponential growth.
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To achieve true diversity in your network, you need to balance the 12 key people across industries, experience, gender, and geographical locations. You need one person representing each of the 12 key personality types: one cheerleader, one influencer, one explorer, and so on.
You may need to find people to fill certain roles, but it may also mean you have to cut back on your network. It’s also likely that you have identified certain individuals in your network who are actually not supporting you in a way you need.
Explorer
Real-life adventurer and author Mikael Strandberg defines an explorer as someone who ‘is almost always driven by curiosity and a great willpower for making a difference’. Explorers challenge norms and uncover new paths, so an Explorer in your network will constantly ask you, “Why?”
They want to know what your goals are and how you plan to get there. They are curious about your path to the top and may give you ideas for a different way of accomplishing your feat.
Influencer
Your influencer has reached a level of success you aspire to. They enrich your learning experience with their own knowledge. You actively learn from their mistakes, heeding their wisdom and advice.
Learning what your influencer has done well and what they would do differently if they had their time again will give you incredible insights and help you avoid having to reinvent the wheel or learn everything the hard way.
Professor
Your professor brings fresh ideas, insights, and thinking to the table. Maybe they have access to new market data, information, and trend reports. Perhaps they’re ahead of the curve in terms of what’s happening in your industry.
In either case, they keep you informed of what’s happening now and what’s likely to happen in the future, so your knowledge is always relevant and you are always on top of your game.
Connector
In his best-selling book The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell describes Connectors as: people who link us up with the world, who bridge Omaha and Sharon, who introduce us to our social circles — these people on whom we rely more heavily than we realize are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.
Your connector opens doors for you, whether to other people or to information. Sure, you may have a network, but you’ll be limited by who you know, your experience, and how long you’ve been at it without a connector on board. Connectors have connections.
Inspirer Contd.
No matter what you want to do and achieve, having an inspirer in your network will change everything. They create a picture of a future possibility you can almost see, feel, hear, and touch. They inject you with so much enthusiasm and energy that you believe you can take on the world.
Architect
Your architect helps you design, plan, and supervise your next steps. They are experts at visualizing the consummation of your plans and how to reach that future. They believe all the hard work is in the planning and pre-production stages, and this is where you need to spend a lot of your time.
Your architect is methodical, astute, and financially savvy, good at identifying potential gains, challenges, and risks, and at laying the stepping stones to guide you along your path.
Truth Sayer
The Truth Teller is honest and loyal, and he will force you to commit to your goals with integrity. Your truth-teller has well-established beliefs and values that clearly drive their behavior and decision-making. They are candid, transparent, authentic, and real.
They know that the only judgment that matters is the one you have about yourself. If you don’t start leading from within, acknowledging your values and belief systems, and fully owning who you are, you will never be capable of being a better person.
Cheerleader
Your cheerleader is exactly that—your number one fan. They rave about you all the time, whether you’re in or out of the room. Everyone needs a cheerleader, pom poms and all. They believe in your dreams; they trust in you and know your capability and capacity, and as a result, they jump up and down and make a lot of noise about you. They are your walking billboard, your TV campaign, and your social media platform.
