Who's Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won't Let You Fail

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Overview

Disregard the myth of the lone professional “superman” and the rest of our culture’s go-it alone mentality. The real path to success in your work and in your life is through creating an inner circle of “lifeline relationships” – deep, close relationships with a few key trusted individuals who will offer the encouragement, feedback, and generous mutual support every one of us needs to reach our full potential. Whether your dream is to lead a company, be a top producer in your field, overcome the self-destructive habits that hold you back, lose weight or make a difference in the larger world, Who’s Got Your Back will give you the roadmap you’ve been looking for to achieve the success you deserve.

Keith Ferrazzi, the internationally renowned thought leader, consultant, and bestselling author of Never Eat Alone, shows us that becoming a winner in any field of endeavor requires a trusted team of advisors who can offer guidance and help to hold us accountable to achieving our goals. It is the reason PH.D candidates have advisor teams, top executives have boards, world class athletes have fitness coaches, and presidents have cabinets.

In this step-by-step guide to the powerful principles behind personal growth and change, you’ll learn how to:

· Master the mindsets that will help you to build deeper, more trusting “lifeline relationships”

· Overcome the career-crippling habits that hold you back, once and for all

· Get further, faster by setting goals in a dramatically more powerful way

· Use “sparring” as a productive tool to make the decisions that will fuel personal success

· Replace the yes men in your life with those who get it and care – and will hold you accountable to achieving your goals

· Lower your guard and let others help!

None of us can do it alone. We need the perspective and advice of a trusted team. And in Who’s Got Your Back, Keith Ferrazzi shows us how to put our own “dream team” together.

Tagged! Interview: Keith Ferrazzi

What People Are Saying

Bill Novelli

"After reading Keith Ferrazzi's Who's Got Your Back, you will not only be inspired to make change happen in your life, but you will be able to make it stick!"--(Bill Novelli, CEO, AARP)

Daniel H. Pink

"Who's Got Your Back is more than a 'self-help' book. It's the first 'let others help' book. If you're serious about your success, listen to Ferrazzi and build your support circle today."--(Daniel H. Pink, author of A Whole New Mind)

Devin Wenig

"Ferrazzi points out that a seismic shift is underway, we are moving from isolation and corporate silos to community and collaboration. This book is a roadmap for success in the new world, conveyed with emotion and wit."--(Devin Wenig, CEO, Thomson Reuters Markets)

Jack Canfield

"Keith Ferrazzi does for relationships what Tom Peters did for management . . . he's opened our eyes to a new reality that relationships are the key to success in business. Who's Got Your Back will teach anyone, from job seekers to CEOs, how to quickly build the kinds of relationships that really make a difference in business."--(Jack Canfield, Co-author of The Success Principles and the Chicken Soup for the Soul series)

Marshall Goldsmith

"If I'd had this book at the start of my career, I would have saved myself 30 years of trial and error. If you are serious about your success, I strongly recommend that you read this book and build your support circle today."--(Marshall Goldsmith, author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There, a NYT best seller, WSJ #1 business book)

Mehmet Oz

"In a bleak time for business, Keith's book is both a wake-up call and a cheerful reminder that you can beat the odds - with the right help."--(Dr. Mehmet Oz, coauthor of the #1 bestseller YOU: The Owner's Manual, and host on the 'Oprah & Friends' XM Radio Show)

Seth Waugh

"I am not a big reader of self help books, but this is refreshingly simple. Not the simple found in cliché's but the elegant simplicity and useful voice of experience."--(Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas)

Tom Rath

"Get ready to read a book that will strengthen every one of your closest relationships. If you haven't read Who's Got Your Back, you're at a competitive disadvantage"--(Tom Rath, author of the bestseller StrengthsFinder 2.0)

Editorial Reviews

From Barnes & Noble

Keith Ferrazzi contends that America's corporate culture suffers from a Superman obsession, a delusional sense that real managers prove their worth by climbing their way to the summit alone. According to Ferrazzi, real success comes to men and women who welcome the help and criticism of others. The author of the bestselling Never Eat Alone insists that building a team of trusted, candid advisers is more important than vainly emulating some fictitious solitary hero. By emphasizing the importance of work relationships, Who's Got Your Back? acts as a persuasive corrective to our "go-it-alone" mentalities.

Publishers Weekly

Six years ago, author and management consultant Ferazzi wrote Never Eat Alone, about networking and developing empathy with clients; since then, he's founded his own company (Ferazzi Greenlight), and the challenge has taught him the value of "a group that cared about and encouraged" him, "totally infused with excitement, optimism, energy, creativity and hope." Trying to recreate the dynamic interactions that defined work at his former employer, Deloitte & Touche, Ferrazzi discovered that, in every sphere of life, fostering a "peer-to-peer collaborative process," based in interlinked support groups, creates a safe space where criticism, accountability and self-correction flourish (think Weight Watchers or Alcoholics Anonymous). This bit of understanding, Ferrazzi concludes, is something "great leaders and peak performers throughout history have always known," and his lively, anecdotal style welcomes average readers to the practice of building "lifeline relationships." Though Ferrazzi's upbeat spirit is encouraging and his lessons valuable, an over-emphasis on the ideal ("There's nothing inherently nonsupportive about today's corporate culture") fails to address many hard realities facing today's American worker.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780385521338
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publication date: 5/19/2009
Pages: 336
Product dimensions: 6.46 (w) x 9.52 (h) x 1.10 (d)

Meet the Author

Keith Ferrazzi, CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, has counseled the world’s top enterprises on how to dramatically accelerate the development of business relationships to drive sales, spark innovation, and create team cohesion. As a thought leader and advocate for corporate citizenship, he has rallied executives around initiatives to improve healthcare and education nationwide. Ferrazzi has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Inc., and Fast Company, and has appeared on Today and other national TV. His previous book, Never Eat Alone, is a national bestseller. He lives in Los Angeles.

Read an Excerpt

Who's Got Your Back

The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won't Let You Fail

By Keith Ferrazzi

Broadway Business

Lose Weight, Get Rich, and Change the World

Maybe that sounds like the dubious title of some shameless self-help book, but it’s pretty much the most accurate way to describe the life of Jean Nidetch. Jean was a plus-sized housewife who enlisted her friends to help her stay on a diet. What she ultimately accomplished is remarkable. But how she accomplished it is something every single one of us needs to understand.

Jean was overweight. She was overweight as a child, she was overweight in high school, and despite endless diet regimens, her waistline kept expanding throughout her twenties and thirties. Eventually, this five-foot-seven-inch woman weighed 214 pounds, wore a size 44 dress, and fit the medical definition of “obese.” Jean tried diets and pills that promised to take off pounds, but she always gained back the weight she lost.

In 1961, at age thirty-eight, Jean started a diet sponsored by the New York City Department of Health. After ten weeks she was twenty pounds lighter, but starting to lose motivation. She realized that what she needed was someone to talk to for some support.

Her inspiration: Since she couldn’t get her pals tomake the trek with her to Manhattan to sign up for the official health department regimen, she brought the “science” of the program to their living rooms in Queens. Jean and her friends would all lose weight together. Out of those first meetings grew Weight Watchers, today widely recognized as one of the most effective weight-loss programs in the world. Nidetch’s idea was simple: Losing weight requires a combination of dieting and peer support. She held weekly meetings with weight check-ins and goal setting to promote accountability, coupled with honest, supportive conversation about the struggles, setbacks, and victories of losing weight.

Eventually, Nidetch, who’d lost seventy-two pounds, rented office space and started leading groups all across New York City. In 1963 she incorporated. The company went public in 1968 and was sold to H. J. Heinz in 1978. (In 1999, Weight Watchers was again resold, to a unit of the company Artal Luxembourg.) As of 2007, Weight Watchers International had retail sales of over $4 billion from licensees and franchisees, membership fees, exercise programs, cookbooks, portion-controlled food products, and a magazine. Nidetch retired in 1984, leaving behind a legacy that has saved the lives of literally millions of men and women. As the company’s current CEO, Dave Kirchhoff, notes, “Though the science of weight loss has evolved over the years, the core of Jean’s program–support and accountability–has remained a constant.”

What’s so extraordinary about all that? Jean just wanted to get skinny, but through an inner circle of friends offering expertise, wisdom, honesty, and support she achieved far more than she ever imagined possible. Jean discovered what the great leaders and peak performers throughout history have always known: Exceptional achievement in work and life is a peer-to-peer collaborative process.

Behind every great leader, at the base of every great tale of success, you will find an indispensable circle of trusted advisors, mentors, and colleagues. These groups come in all forms and sizes and can be found at every level and in nearly all spheres of both professional and personal life, but what they all have in common is a unique kind of connection with each other that I’ve come to call lifeline relationships.

These relationships are, quite literally, why some people succeed far more than others. In Who’s Got Your Back, I want to give you a practical guide to building an inner circle of lifeline relationships so you can do for your life what Jean Nidetch did for hers.

Well Connected and All Alone

Ten years after leaving the executive committee of Deloitte Consulting, I had been, at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, one of the youngest chief marketing officers in the Fortune 500. In 2003, my first book, Never Eat Alone, promoting the power of genuine relationships and generosity in our lives at work, had become a national bestseller. And from everything I heard back from readers and clients, the book was helping people change their lives for the better. I felt as if I was beginning to find my real purpose in life–helping others improve their careers and their companies. It felt so much more meaningful than putting “butts in beds,” as I would joke, as the chief marketing officer at Starwood. Shortly afterward I had fulfilled a lifelong dream by starting my own consulting and training company, Ferrazzi Greenlight–or FG, as we called it. To the outside world, I seemed to have it all–success, money, recognition, well-paid speaking engagements, a stack of appreciative fan mail, and a professional and social network the size of a midsized metropolitan phone book.

On the surface, life was great. But beneath, everything wasn’t as it seemed. The fact is, in terms of where I wanted the company to be, my business was disappointing me. I was feeling overwhelmed and isolated. It felt as if I was at a pool party, surrounded by friends and acquaintances, but instead of mingling and passing drinks, I was alone in the deep end of the pool, struggling just to keep my head above water . . . and no one seemed to notice.

I realized that I was behaving like a mediocre manager. Too much of our client work required me to execute it personally. Although I’d hired a handful of skilled executives to help me build FG, I hadn’t prioritized the time to coach them to do what I do, or to figure out a business that didn’t involve me doing most of the legwork. When my colleagues tried to intervene and take the burden off my back, too often I was disappointed with the results. My solution: I put my head down and tried to bulldoze through my problems, taking on even more, which caused me to neglect even more of the day-to-day management of the company and spend even less time coaching my team. I was on the road constantly, an absentee CEO. Our work was more than just a job to me; it was a mission I believed passionately in. I believed in it so much that I couldn’t let go when I should have. So I was racing around the country like a crazy guy. And yet FG was turning down business because I couldn’t do it all by myself.

It was an old behavior that I knew in my gut was tripping me up, yet I couldn’t see a pathway beyond it. It was a downward spiral.

People would tell me constantly that my energy level was contagious. But the fact is, drive and ambition can take you only so far. I was too busy getting on planes, meeting new or prospective clients, giving speeches, and grasping at every shiny new idea that came along, hoping the next one would somehow eclipse or fix all our problems.

How did it look to people around me–those people at the pool party, smiling and sipping their drinks while I was desperately treading water in the deep end? Got me–I never bothered to ask them. I never talked about my problems or shouted out for help. The people I needed were within arm’s reach the whole time–but I couldn’t see it.

Most of my team just tried to do the best they could with a CEO who was missing in action. But the irony wasn't lost on them: Keith Ferrazzi, the guy nicknamed “Mr. Relationship” by the media because of the success of Never Eat Alone and the size of my network, was failing at managing the relationships in his own company.
So often we know something in our lives isn’t working, but we ignore what our gut is telling us and keep on doing it anyway. I only wish I’d had the courage to tell the people around me, “Guys, I need help. I’m drowning here.”

Know Who You Are and Where You Belong

At their essence, my problems weren’t just business problems. For so many of the daily and strategic issues that a company faces, I relied on the world-class network I had put together, using the insights and guidelines I described in Never Eat Alone. I could turn to any number of clients, lawyers, bankers, vendors, or board members in my network for specific advice. But the help they could give me was relegated to a call here or a coffee there–dribs and drabs. I didn’t have anyone in my life whom I could turn to at any time for a completely candid, no-holds-barred discussion of what was really going on in my life and my business. I hadn’t established the kind of close, deep relationships with a few key people who would do whatever it took to make sure I never failed, and for whom I would do the same. The kind of relationship I’d had with my team at Deloitte.
On one level, I had lost touch with a sense of my strengths and weaknesses. When that happens, we lose the power to manage our shortcomings, and the result is self-defeating behaviors. Overcoming them is about, ultimately, knowing thyself.

Look at it this way: Success is the ability to create the results in life we truly seek and not, say, just the amount of money you make. People who have a clear picture of what makes them tick, who know their true inner motivations and priorities, simply don’t get in their own way. They can focus with energetic intention on their goals. It’s what allows ordinary people to live extraordinary lives.

Acquiring that knowledge is a journey with no single destination–and yet somehow we all still get lost at times. When we do, we need the external perspective of a lifeline–an eye-opening kick in the butt.

For me that kick came from a friend of mine, Peter Guber, the film producer and former head of Sony Pictures. In the course of one incredible day, my life began to change.

I’d dropped by Peter’s home to offer some advice on a book he was thinking about writing. In his living room, surrounded by memorabilia from Peter’s movies–the actual Batman suit from Batman, and the gleaming awards he’d brought home for producing such hits as Midnight Express and Rain Man–I was rattling away, giving him feedback on the book idea, when all of a sudden Peter sat back in the sofa and started to shake his head softly.

“Keith,” he said, “I think you need to consider being a little more elegant.”

I was dumbfounded. Elegant? Was my advice too direct? That was impossible with Peter. Elegant? Few words in the English language were more loaded for me. I instantly flashed back to the fancy private grade school that I’d attended as a kid on scholarship. My working-class parents in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, couldn’t afford the school uniforms, so we had to buy them as hand-me-downs from the “nearly new” shop. I hated going into that store and would hide in the racks for fear I’d be discovered by a classmate–which of course I eventually was. “Hey, Ferrazzi,” the kids would say, “whose name is written in your jacket today?” From my clothes to my “Pittsburgh-ese,” I was made painfully aware at an early age just how inelegant I was.

Peter noticed the expression on my face and shook his head affectionately. His smile reminded me we were friends and this was a man who cared about me, not some high school classmate out to give me a hard time.
“Keith . . . that look on your face. I’m not talking about your clothes or your poise,” he went on. “I’m talking about elegance of purpose and activity. Keith, elegance is the art of exerting the minimum amount of effort for the maximum effect, the maximum amount of power and achievement in our life. You work so hard, Keith. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I see you scramble constantly. I get e-mails from you at all hours. You’re among the smartest people I know, but you’re working so frenetically. With all that effort, and given your talents, you should be a lot further than you are now.”

He paused, looked me in the eye, and leaned his head in.

“Keith, let’s walk through this together. Do you know where you’re going and how your business is going to help you get there? Because it’s not clear to me. Can you say that your almost superhuman efforts are aligned and focused on whatever that place is?” Noticing my astonished expression, he added, “Keith–am I the first person ever to say this to you?”

I knew that Peter’s insight and wisdom were dead on. But no one had ever put it to me so directly. I also knew that Peter’s candor, while tough to swallow, was as strong a sign as any that he was invested in my welfare. It was as if he’d seen me flailing around in that pool and taken the time to toss out a rope.

For some reason, I felt completely safe and respected, hearing what Peter had to say–I wasn’t embarrassed or defensive, even with Batman staring me down from the corner. I was grateful, touched, and relieved. I’d spent most of my life trying to be so much for so many other people–I wasn’t good at admitting my weaknesses. Yet sitting here, alone with Peter, it was all so easy. He wasn’t implying I was weak. Just human. That I had strengths I wasn’t utilizing and behaviors I had to address.

Eureka!

Peter made me realize that I needed help. I needed more support of the kind Peter was offering. There was no way I could get to where I knew I wanted to be and develop my full potential in my business without it. I didn’t have to be afraid to let my guard down, because there were already plenty of people around me who saw me for what I was and still respected and cared for me.

The truth is, I had plenty of relationships in my life. But I had few close, intimate relationships with people I could really open up to, share my fears and failures and goals and dreams with, and ask for help. I had started to think that because I was the boss and people looked to me as an expert, I was supposed to be the one with all the answers. But I didn’t always have them. The really powerful relationships I did have–my family, some intimate friends I’ve had for years–couldn’t deliver the kind of insight and feedback on my career and life that I most needed to hear. I needed people I trusted who understood my professional goals. I had those people in my life, too! I’d just never asked for their help. I was too afraid I would come across as weak or flawed; I was frankly embarrassed by some of my behaviors.

Why risk undermining other people’s perceptions of me by admitting my weaknesses? But inside I knew I was fooling myself if I thought they didn’t already see it for themselves.

Then it hit me. While I’d been anxiously trying to design a new road map to achieve my personal best, both I and my crack team of researchers and consultants at FG were already hard at work exploring ways to sustain behavioral change for all manner of companies. The answer that we had alighted upon was the power of peer-to-peer support, much like the support Peter Guber had offered me. It was a new and fascinating area of practice for FG, born out my own interest in the use of peer support in highly successful self-help programs like Weight Watchers (which helped my sister Karen) and Alcoholics Anonymous, a rich set of new psychological studies, and firsthand experience from people like Morrie Shechtman, a deeply insightful and wonderfully candid consultant, speaker, and author, and Dr. Mark Goulston, a hostage negotiator and the noted author of Get Out of Your Own Way. (In fact, both Morrie and Mark ultimately joined our research institute at FG.)

What if, we hypothesized, we could adapt the don’t-do-it-alone advice that is the bedrock of twelve-step programs, Weight Watchers, and faith-based support groups and apply it in the corporate environment? Leverage the same basic methodologies found in the most successful behavioral change programs in the world to keep organizations and employees focused on positive change and targeted goals? Empower people with the tools to help each other identify and resolve issues that held them back personally and professionally?

Eureka! It was a triumphant moment.

FG had started facilitating peer-to-peer environments within structured groups like sales forces and executive teams. The returns were measurable and almost immediate, not least in the renewed excitement of their people and the companywide commitment to develop new skills and improved behaviors. For our clients, these improvements were typically reflected in increased revenues within a couple of quarters. We were seeding companies with new tools and techniques, allowing their people to establish lifeline relationships with each other.

Peter Guber had helped me to see how alone I had made myself in trying to solve my problems as a manager and leader. And the work we were doing at FG had evolved into the blueprint to overcome it–to allow individuals to use the power of peer-to-peer support from a few close, trusted advisors–to do more, faster, and with more fun, and to become more successful at what they did as a result. I could see that my personal and professional lives had never been more aligned.

I hoped to get more of Peter’s input and time. But I realized I also needed support and advice from more people like Peter, trusted people with whom I could establish lifeline relationships. I needed a few key people in my life who had my back, whom I could talk to about anything and who would encourage and support me, give me feedback and perspective, tell me the truth even when it was a truth I might not want to hear. People who would hold me accountable every step of the way. I had served in that role for others over the years; now I had to start letting others be that for me. I had to let others in more deeply.

Why Do We Need Lifelines?

Each one of us is a salesperson, leader, and entrepreneur, seeking answers. All of us work hard at our jobs and careers–and I include stay-at-home parents in this category. We’re all entrepreneurs of our own ideas, whether we own our own companies or work for someone else. We’re all leaders in our own lives–with our colleagues, with our employees, with our kids, and in our communities. Each one of us is a salesperson of ourselves and our opinions, if not of business products and services. And most of us come up against personal and professional problems that are just too big to solve alone. If we want to be as successful as we know we can be, we need the help of others.

Continues...

Excerpted from Who's Got Your Back by Keith Ferrazzi Copyright © 2009 by Keith Ferrazzi. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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TLC04

Posted May 19, 2009

I'm off to build my Dream Team ...

Why you should read this book:

1) The Four Mindsets: Intimacy, Generosity, Vulnerability, Candor
This follows up on the mindsets Ferrazzi explored in his first book, Never Eat Alone. Building relationships, and repairing relationships, using these mindsets will greatly enhance and fuel all types of relationships, and increase your chances of maintaining strong, successful alliances. These four mindsets are core to building trust.

2) Building a Dream Team: We all have dreams, and we need strong relationships to help us realize those dreams. Once we've accepted that conducting our relationships through the lens of the four mindsets contributes to our success, building a dream team to help us fuel our success is the next logical step. Ferrazzi outlines nine steps to building a dream team. Not sure if the steps work or not, since Ferrazzi doesn't present hardcore evidence that actual, real live individuals have used these steps successfully, but Ferrazzi's nine steps includes many practical and tactical ideas that logically should work, and seem worth trying.

3) Holding Each Member Accountable: Without accountability in the group and among individuals, teams become lazy, complacent, loose focus, and derail. Ferrazzi does a nice job of explaining safe ways to implement accountability measures into your organizational, or dream, teams.

What I Didn't Like About This Book:

As was the standard in Never Eat Alone, Ferrazzi does lots of name dropping. My eyes glassed over with all the name-dropping. Ferrazzi's message would have been much stronger and clearer without all the lip service.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Dr-Mark

Posted May 20, 2009

People are waiting to help you if you just ask

In Ferrazzi's first mega best selling book, "Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time" he wrote the definitive reference book for building your career and creating success through networking and building relationships. "Who's Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won't Let You Fail" is the natural next step on your road to success and fulfillment by giving you the definitive reference for becoming successful and fulfilled by building upon the power of your most important relationships - one where you deeply care about each other, hold each other accountable and kick each other in the butt when either of you need to.
You really can't get anywhere alone and once you realize and accept that, Who's Got Your Back? will be the best guide you will ever find to making it happen.
- Mark Goulston, M.D.
Fast Company

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Sana

Posted May 14, 2009

more from this reviewer

The most practical book you'll ever read!

Keith Ferrazzi is the science of success. With Who's Got Your Back he gives us the roadmap in how to failproof our goals in this new economy.

Ferrazzi doesn't discriminate any age group. His ease in writing style appeals to all crowds who are willing to learn, improve and succeed.

Ferrazzi's philosophies are the perfect compliment to globalization. He warms up the business world to make it a friendlier, productive and more successful place to be.

Keith Ferrazzi has made his business to be sincere and sincerity to become a business!

If you're into self improvement, ambitions, and goal keeping skills, buy Keith Ferrazzi's new book!

-----
I was fortunate enough to read the galley of the book. This is truly a wonderful book. Think about how a successful CEO who has achieved so much AND is willing to help you with no strings attached at all. Keith Ferrazzi is full of generosity! Why would he take time out to help us with this book? It's because Keith really cares. It means so much to me that someone else cares about my success aside from myself; that other person is Keith Ferrazzi.

I have a strong appreciate for Keith Ferrazzi's work because I've built upon the foundation of his philosophies from "Never Eat Alone." When you read that book, you want to re-read it several times. "Never Eat Alone" is a great prelude to "Who's got your back." "Never Eat Alone" was an awakening; Keith teaches you how to connect with others in a sincere and warm way. He also motivates you to find your passion. As a young person who wants to do so much in life, be ambitious and successful, I really need to be goal oriented. "Who's got your back" truly breaks down the processes of how to make your goals and keep them. This book is key to personal development and success. This is why I call Keith Ferrazzi's "Who's got your back" as the science of success. When you read the book, you'll understand the heart and labor and research that went into creating this book.

Turn off the television for a while. Step away from the internet and that noisy cell phone. Take some time to read this book. You won't feel vulnerable to the crises going on in the world. Instead, you'll understand how to improve yourself and become a lean-mean goal keeping person!

Keith's books have given me hope, a boost in my emotional well being as well as my intellect. All those quirky ideas in my head can actually become dreams. Keith mentions that as long as you have a desire to improve, that's all you need to get started. When I picked up "Never Eat Alone" last summer, I felt like a failed attempt at being pre-med. I was wallowing in depression trying to figure out what the heck to do. Keith's books and GreenlightCommunity.com both helped me out a lot!!!

The great thing about Keith's works is that you can complement it with his GreenlightCommunity.com website. Once you understand the basis of Keith's philosophies, this website will give you many opportunities to grow with like minded individuals.

Love yourself! Make the most out of your time! Read this book! You are your most precious asset. Now get on your lotus cloud, like I did, with Keith Ferrazzi's works!

-Sana Ahmed
Community Ambassador: http://www.greenlightcommunity.com/profile/Sana

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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RolfDobelli

Posted February 23, 2011

more from this reviewer

Accessible manual for personal team building

Achieving lofty personal and professional goals in life isn't easy. And, as consultant and author Keith Ferrazzi argues in this compelling team-building manual, it's nearly impossible to do alone. But find three like-minded, experienced and tough people who care about you, who tell the truth and who understand accountability, and you'll attain your goal a lot easier - whether it's losing 20 pounds, climbing to the top of the sales chart, avoiding conflict or giving up a detrimental habit like bragging. Ferrazzi details how to create a "dream team" to push you to the next stage - finding the right people, building solid relationships, setting goals and dodging pitfalls. Filled with relatable don't-do-what-I-did stories from Ferrazzi, the book makes the whole process sound easy - perhaps a bit too easy. Still, this recipe for success seems to include all the right ingredients. getAbstract suggests this persuasive book to any ambitious soul who is looking to reach the stars with the backing of a dedicated team.
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Anonymous

Posted September 24, 2009

Sophomore Slump

Whereas the first book "Never Eat Alone" was a classic (where I purchased dozens of books as gifts); this is pretty weak. Don't waste your money on this one. Unfortunately, it appears Mr. Ferrazzi's network of buddies is talking this up . . . without justice.
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ayoung

Posted September 9, 2009

I Also Recommend:

Keith Ferrazzi Teaches 9 Steps to Achieve Your Goals in Life - Business or Personal

I believe I'm an efficient manager, but to really achieve what I want in life - to be a recognized published writer, Ferrazzi says one must search for a "dream team," a team that will provide the daily support you need to succeed with your goals. Think of three people you communicate with daily/weekly, then eliminate them, states Ferrazzi. One needs to find a strong network who will fulfill the 4 C's: commitment, comprehension, chemistry and curiosity (and diversity). This should not be a quick deduction as to who will be your lifelines while planning and writing your goals as many companies overlook the "who" in their search, but a succession of carefully planned goal setting steps. An inspiration for the meek as well as the bold business executive, Ferrazzi is truly an energizing speaker who helps every one to believe they can finally reach their goals in life. Keith Ferrazzi is on tour now, promoting his book Who's Got Your Back, sponsored by University of Phoenix who will be at the Q Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Sept. 10.
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WendySuto

Posted September 9, 2009

Build Your Dream Team with a Few Key Trusted Individuals Who Will Help You Succeed

Much more than a self help book, author Keith Ferrazzi claims "Who's Got Your Back" is "the world's very first let others help you" book. According to this book, the real path to your success is not by going at it alone but rather by creating inner relationships with only a few trusted key individuals who won't let you fail, no matter what. Those who will offer encouragement, support, feedback, and more to help you achieve any small or major goal you have; those "who have your back." Upon finishing this book, I have realized that it is not enough to just read this book, but you must practice the actual principles in order to become more successful in life, in relationships, and business. This book teaches such principles like intimacy, candor, vulnerability, generosity, accountability and much more. Such chapters include how to find your "dream team" and how to make them work for you as well as how to stay the right course to achieve your chosen goals. I am looking forward to seeing Keith Ferrazzi in person, when he visits Cleveland Ohio September 10th 2009 at the Quicken Loans Arena from 6-8pm. It is a free event, so I will be sure to register on his website ahead of time. This book is so powerful and special that it should not be taken lightly; definite actions need to be taken when you have finished reading this book. What are you waiting for? Go build your dream team, and allow others help you!
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AJict

Posted September 9, 2009

Even "Independent-minded" people need a team of advisers

If you're like me, and you take pride in your own self-sufficiency, you may find that one of your greatest strengths is also your greatest weakness. I didn't really understand this until reading Keith Ferrazzi's "Who's Got Your Back," but my colleague lent this book to me before we went to see Ferrazzi speak at the Q in Cleveland on September 10.

I consider myself a pretty independent person, and in America, we place a lot of importance in being independent. I'd imagine that it's a great asset in just about every industry. But as this book points out, there's really no such thing of a truly self-made man or woman. Behind every successful person is a team of advisers that has offered crucial advice and guidance. This book helps you assemble your own dream team of advisers. And it shows you how you can get the most out of this team. If you're like me and not used to asking for advice, Ferrazzi lays out four key "mindsets" (generosity, vulnerability, candor and accountability) that will help you foster lasting and beneficial connections. The insights offered in each of these mindsets are great for building a rapport and relationship with just about anyone.
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Anonymous

Posted August 22, 2009

A must have for the Leadership Library

Skip the acknowledgments or you will think everyone should have your back. Otherwise, this was an idea-provoking book. This book pooled several leadership ideas into one source. It combines a successful leadership process with relationship building for a never fail outcome. Keith's willingness to expose his own failing shows the road to accountability is possible as long as there is a good support team in place. It was truly a bright light during these stressful times of 2009.
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gdm444

Posted May 18, 2009

Who's Got Your Back - Better than his 1st book, goes much deeper!

Keith Ferrazzi, the world's most connected man, is reinventing himself with Who's Got Your Back. Once focused on how to target and connect to the 25 people you need to be more successful and get hard results from relationships, now Keith shows his softer side in finding and working with the 3 close relationships that won't let you fail.

I like this book better than the first because it goes deeper into individual and group psychology. Why we do what we do (try to be lonely superman) and how we can develop a few relationships that will not only help drive our success, but enhance our personal happiness as well.

Being a small business owner it is so important to have a solid support network in all stations of the workplace that can help you grow and connect with the community. Being a former corporate man though I can also see this being critical to figuring out what you want to focus your life around if you haven't already and/or finding the right guidance to navigate (or circumvent) the hierarchies and politics of big business. I saw Keith speak recently at a friend's company and he blew people away. The line to talk to him after wards was out the door.

I definitely recommended this business/life book both for the new, more human perspective it lends (i.e. we are all human and need each others guidance and support)and the clear tactics it lays out to actually bring this perspective into your life. Easy reading too.
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Ryan_Stephens

Posted May 16, 2009

Solid Read for People Who Are Ready to Take Positive Action & Believe in Collaboration

For me, Ferrazzi's "Who's Got Your Back" wasn't as game changing as its predecessor, "Never Eat Alone," but it's still a very solid book that will appeal to a large vertical of professionals.

The premise of the book is that you can't get to the top, or anywhere for that matter, relying solely on yourself and that the key to achieving your dreams comes from having "lifeline relationships."

The book gets a little long-winded and didn't feel quite as actionable to me as I would've liked, but that could very well be because I'm very deeply embedded in this space and already practice a lot of what Keith discusses in the book on an everyday basis.

The four mind-sets he discusses in the book should be something everyone immediately, if they haven't already, implements into their lives regardless of whether or not they choose to pursue the other insights in the book.

Once you understand the four mindsets, Keith takes you through how to build and assemble your own dream team that will invariably help you accomplish your life's goals.

I absolutely loved certain aspects of this book that will change the way you approach the task oriented relationships in your life. Pay special attention to long slow dinners, collaborating as opposed to compromising, and the idea of sparring to help you glean insight surrounding key decisions.

The end of book does get more actionable, including quite a few bullet points that are worth scanning the pages and revisiting again later until you become proficient at creating the groups Keith discusses.

If you're inspired to take positive action in your life and see the power of the collaboration, particularly with the emergence of online tools that aid this process, then chances are this book is for you.

And as an aside, whether it's intended to be or not, this is a GREAT book for business and team leaders that really want to become better at managing their teams. There are so many subtle examples of how leaders have emphasized the four mindsets to engage their teams and help themselves become better leaders. If you're a leader who is unsure of your leadership or find that your team is increasingly frustrated or put off by your leadership style, do yourself a favor and read this book.
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JodeeBock

Posted May 16, 2009

Fantastic Resource for Building Your Own Dream Team!

OK, I was a fan of Keith Ferrazzi's when I read his first book, Never Eat Alone. But in his latest work, Who's Got Your Back, I've met a new soulmate! As the facilitator of several master mind groups studying various works to help us all go deeper, I see the power of the master mind at work every single day. I'm quite clear on the WHY behind relationship building. With Keith's new book, I now have a great set of HOW tools to take my groups to the next level of relationship building success.

Keith's premise is that when you discover the power of relationships and then intentionally build your own dream team, or what he calls "lifeline relationships," you can achieve absolutely anything for yourself and your life.

By demonstrating his four Mind-sets (Generosity, Vulnerability, Candor and Accountability) through his own stories, I learned so much about my own stories. In 2003 I discovered myself to be constitutionally unemployable and became an accidental entrepreneur, struggling at times to have any clue about what I was doing. Seeking focus while still learning and growing, I often found myself running in circles. Keith had similar struggles with his own learning which is why this book has so much meat and meaning for me.

Entrepreneurs and business owners and parents and anyone who wants to achieve anything beyond where they currently find themselves will find value in this book. I think intuitively we know we don't want to be in this life alone; but our conditioning somewhere along the line has taught us that it's not OK to reach out.

Keith gives us permission to be human and helps us resolve our conditioning against candor and honesty with our relationships. He even points out how sparring is a skill that can be developed and is hugely mutually beneficial to dream teams committed to each others' success. Through several case studies and stories, we see firsthand how others have integrated these ideas and the successes they are experiencing in their own personal and professional lives.

I'm going to be using this book at the foundation for a future master mind study here in Fargo and will have more to share when we get to that point, so watch this blog for updates throughout the summer.
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ThatDwayne

Posted May 15, 2009

more from this reviewer

Build your trusted inner circle

This book is about developing an inner circle of advisors who will never let you fail. This book is both inspiring and actionable - a very strong combination. I found this book to be a very reasonable and achievable approach - in other words, something I believe I can actually do. Why do I mention this? Well, when I read Keith's first book "Never Eat Alone," I was inspired but very intimidated - "Never Eat Alone" felt very compelling, but I believed Keith must be some kind of Superhero to be able to do all of the things he described in any sustained way.

In "Who's Got Your Back," Keith shares some of his challenges and helps us see that he is Mere Mortal after all. In fact, he talks about how some of the relationship skillz he mentions in "Never Eat Alone" were missing inside his company. [I can relate - I do a much better with communication, organization, and relationship management at work than I do at home.]

He then goes on to share how he has found 3 key people in his life that provide him with unvarnished feedback, encouragement, and input on life strategies. These are the 3 people who will not let him fail - the 3 people who have "got his back."

Read more of my thoughts on this book, including my top 5 take aways here: http://bit.ly/whosgotyourback
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Who's Got Your Back: The Breakthrough Program to Build Deep, Trusting Relationships That Create Success--and Won't Let You Fail

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I'm off to build my Dream Team ...

People are waiting to help you if you just ask

The most practical book you'll ever read!

Accessible manual for personal team building

Sophomore Slump

Keith Ferrazzi Teaches 9 Steps to Achieve Your Goals in Life - Business or Personal

Build Your Dream Team with a Few Key Trusted Individuals Who Will Help You Succeed

Even "Independent-minded" people need a team of advisers

A must have for the Leadership Library

Who's Got Your Back - Better than his 1st book, goes much deeper!

Solid Read for People Who Are Ready to Take Positive Action & Believe in Collaboration

Fantastic Resource for Building Your Own Dream Team!

Build your trusted inner circle