I thought you might be interested to hear about a book by one of the most effective and positive professionals I know – someone whom I am privileged to call my friend:

The title is “Business Relationships That Last: 5 Steps To Transform Contacts Into High Performing Relationships”, by Ed Wallace

He’s already gotten some great advance praise, including:

“Ed has it exactly right: intent, character, making and keeping commitments, credibility, and authenticity–are all invaluable drivers of performance and relationship building that can lower expenses, speed up production, and tear down the barriers preserving market status quo.”
–Stephen Covey, Ph.D., author of the New York Times bestseller The Speed of Trust

Ed’s book is timely. In fact, recent research indicates that 88% of CEO’s and sales executives believe that their business’ success is based on outstanding relationships. Yet, despite the razor thin margin for error in today’s business climate, less than 5% of these same executives actually have strategies to advance the relationships that are so critical to their success. Consequently, business relationships have been reduced to a series of short term transactions between Blackberrys, not people!

Ed’s developed a process to deal with this. In five easy-to-follow steps, Business Relationships That Last reveals how to transform any business relationship into a valuable source for revenue, leads, and advice. His approach is balanced and shows how to be valuable to your contacts – so it’s not about “gettting yours” – but about builiding truly reciprocal relationships that matter, too. Ed combines memorable anecdotes with a clear principle-based framework that shows you how to balance your hard business skills with the often-overlooked soft skills of relationship building.

I really believe this is a must-read book for every forward-thinking executive!

You can order your copy today at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders.

Business relationships that last. Now, that’s a good idea!