meeting time, allows him to be the first person to interact with his audience before the days clutter

cancloud their mind.Additionally , he has the ability

to combine a straightforward attitude with his marketing acumenand consulting experience in order to drive results. Some

would consider this bold and steadfast manner to be somewhat abrasive. At times he is perceived as too eager while always

maintaining an agenda for establishing and maintaining his network. Additionally, Ferrazzi becomes so directionally focused ondriving

his ideas to top management, that he appears disinterested in his peers' thoughts and suggestions.Colle agues and management have

stated that his impatience prevents him from executing necessary stepsto complete all facets of his work he is not a worker bee.Some

people frowned upon Ferrazzi's brash attitude and believe these tragic flaws would potentially hinder his career. When in fact through effective

utilization of this unique skill set Ferrazzihas been able to fast track his career moving leaps and bounds ahead of his peers. Although his eagernessand

ability to drive ideas seemed like problems at first, they obviously worked in his favor. While positioned at Deloitte, Ferrazzi worked

well above the authority of his position. In turn his ability toreach upper management generated new business for the firm. He also

started the Lincoln Award for Business Excellence in Illinois. Despite a general lack of confidence that Ferrazzi would be able toinitiate this

annual prize, his determination to see his vision through eventually opened many doors for Deloitte. Additionally, Ferrazzi's

ambition provided an easy transition of his skills to the marketingdepartm ent at Starwood hotels and a successful run as the head of YaYa Media.Keith

Ferrazzi by his very nature is never comfortable or content. Admittedly, the qualities thatmake him so successful, often take a substantial toll on

his well-being as he experiences dissatisfactionand unhappiness as much as 20% of the time. Despite this natural imbalance in his life, it seems that

hefinds motivation in this undesirable mindset to seek out a more ideal state of being. The value he placedon transparency

within his relationship was brought into question as he delayed coming out and perhaps perceived this lie to himself as a lie to all of

those who trusted him. Revealing this aspect of his life may have added credibility and strength to those he already knew while reinforcing

the confidence that madehim an excellent networker in the first place.We agree with his approach to business and his career and we

think that all of us here workingtoward our MBA are like Keith to some degree. We are ready to take on new challenges and obstacles

inour lives. The drive Keith has towards moving forward to search out more challenging opportunities andnot staying in any place too long

is all too familiar. Many people would never be comfortable withKeiths approach to his career, but as an MBA student striving for

success we should learn a few thingsfrom his approach to networking and weaving his way through the corporate structure.

It certainly takes practice to become an incredibly talented network builder like Keith, but it is one of those soft skills

thatwhen consistently used and reworked will develop all of sudden over a long period of time. Acting thisway in business is a

learned skill developed through experience. It requires an appreciation for the level of commitment and creativity

necessary to be a good networker with the capability to build these types of fruitful relationships.Ther e are many key components to

successful networking one can extract from the case studysuch as consistency and positioning. The fact that he calls his old roommate

every year and talks for threeminutes creates an environment where Keith maintains control of the time commitment

required tocontinue open communication in the relationship. This establishes a level of credibility and sincerity for both parties. The conditions he

set forth for himself to accept the offer from Deloitte placed him in a position to time and again meet with a key decision maker which would

allow him to build a rapportwhile driving his ideas straight to the top. These are great aggressive networking techniques that enable a person to

succeed.Many professionals lack adequate networking skills and even the drive to build and manage thetypes of relationships illustrated in the

Ferrazzi case study. This case illustrates the importance of powerful and effective networking techniques used in building your

career. As an example, without a proper network you may lack the necessary insight to fully develop the vision and plan, let alone

orchestrate collaboration amongst resources to execute. We can all benefit from adopting some of Keithsaggressive networking tactics

and ambitious attitude.