Microsoft Small Business Summit - Never Eat Alone

Best selling author, Keith Ferrazzi was the final keynote speaker at Microsoft’s Small Business Summit. Here are the highlights from my notes:

- There should be no distinction between personal and business relationships.
- Joy can live with success.
- Skip the small talk and talk with people about passion, dreams and the future.
- Intimacy (a deep mutual understanding) is the core of success.
- Have a willingness to share who you are.
- Make business human.
- Create an environment around yourself that allows others to share a dream.
- You’ve got to be human to be trusted.
- Talk about your struggles.
- A willingness to share makes people care about you.
- FOCUS - Be clear about what you want to achieve.
- Define your currency. What do you have to give to others?
- Give a gift that can change a person’s world.
- Bond with people. Go Deep.
- Build a network before you need it.

Keith was by far the highlight of the summit for me and judging by the standing ovation he got at the end of his speech, I was not alone in this thinking. I was also able to spend a few moments with him afterwords and noticed him take a sincere interest in the people he was speaking with.

The world of networking needs more Keith Ferrazzi.