Relationship Economics: David Nour

I recently attended a show for the food industry put on by the Produce Marketing Association. One of the great speakers, of which there were many, was David Nour. David was truly one of the best speakers I have experienced. He was engaging, humorous and thought-provoking, nearly absent of cheesiness and self-promotion (which I find rare in speakers).

His coins his message using the term "relationship economics" in which he denotes net-working as NOT-working and the process in building great relationships through a more carefully planned strategic process. Each of us desires to influence people in the self-interest of obtaining a desired outcome. But, to do so is both an art and a science in creating value. He puts is into 3 simple steps, which I translate something like this...

1. Influence the Conversation with Valuable Insights
2. Develop the Trust and Credibility to Obtain the Relationship
3. Earn the Opportunity to Achieve the Outcome

The process helps to organize your actions to methodically get to the goal-at-hand and walk steady towards building great relationships and achieving success. David also classifies the types of relationships we build and manage. This helps us to understand their role and the evolution they take. Here are the three types he mentions...

1. Personal (one's we choose)
2. Functional (peers, customers, suppliers - professional and immediate return)
3. Strategic (one's that elevate our thinking, long-term and indirectly but exponentially more important)

He talks about how the first two are usually more obvious and prevalent but the third type, strategic relationships, are often the hardest to develop. The systemic problem with our lack of strategic relationships often is caused by our inability to recognize and appreciate the importance they have in our ability to grow, learn and succeed.

For more information about David, which I recommend learning more about, you can visit his blog here.

Go. Build Great Relationships.