About Keith Ferrazzi
|
| Widely hailed as one of the world’s most “connected” people, Keith Ferrazzi is the author of Never Eat Alone, the international bestselling book about building relationships for success. Ferrazzi is also an acclaimed speaker and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight, a consulting and professional development firm that helps organizations drive growth through relationships. Earlier in his career, he was chief marketing officer at Deloitte Consulting and the youngest to be tapped for partner in the firm's history. Then, upon joining Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Ferrazzi was the youngest CMO in the Fortune 500. He also served as CEO of YaYa Media before founding Ferrazzi Greenlight. |
Recent Article:
Mistakes Were Made, Now Recover
- For more on Keith Ferrazzi visit www.ferrazzigreenlight.com
William F. Buckley Jr. passed away this week. I was lucky to know him and he taught me some important life lessons. When I was an undergrad at Yale, I ran for City Council of New Haven. I lost, but after the election, Buckley sent me a note and invited me to his home. We shared wine, talked politics and he even played the harpsichord. We discussed starting a foundation to support some of Yale's student groups. At least, I thought we did. Brimming with pride, I went back to school and started pitching hard to alumni who would be interested in the foundation Buckley and I were starting. When one donor mentioned the foundation to Buckley, he said, "What foundation?" He didn't remember our conversation the way I did. The whole setup fell apart. By not confirming with absolute clarity the ideas that Buckley and I had discussed, I had harmed my reputation among powerful people and the Yale community.
Here's what I learned about how to recover from a serious personal or professional mistake:
-Get some perspective: You are not on the world's radar screen like Bill Clinton or Martha Stewart. You are not the topic of conversation on CNN or at cocktail parties.
-Assess and forgive yourself: Are you really a jackass? What I mean is, are you fundamentally evil? Do you harm people consistently and laugh about it? If the answer is no, then you need to forgive yourself. You have to forgive yourself before others can forgive you.
-Come clean: Let people know what really happened so they can trust you again. You have to face people who'll be angry at you. The most disarming and successful thing you can do with these people is agree. Say, "You know what? You're right. I was a total jackass. We all do stupid things; this was maybe more stupid than most."
-Get back on the polo horse: Prove to yourself and everyone else that you are a good person. Commit to making a positive difference in the world.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
Bite and Snap at the Heels of Your Competition
|
| |
We can never let our competition hold us in disregard. We should pester them and worry them. That way we force them to think about us. We should make them waste time trying to figure out what we are doing. If we do ...
|
Using Mistakes Successfully
|
| |
Each of us at one time or another has thought about how wonderful it would be to have as much foresight as hindsight. Then we could avoid
making mistakes! Not only is that hope unrealistic, it's also unwise. Mista...
|
The Key to High Sales Productivity
|
| |
Issue most often raised by my clients is better time management. People have tried prioritizing tasks, blocking out parts of their day for certain tasks, implementing new systems and getting better at delegation. Bu...
|
Major Crisis don't just happen!
|
| |
When a business finds itself in a major crisis and out of control, hindsight usually indicates a series of events that lead up to the crisis.
|
Common Costly Mistakes When Selling A Product Online
|
| |
Selling a product online is a great way to break into the world of commerce without all of the expenses involved in setting up a brick-and-mortar business. Unfortunately, many people do not realize that selling a pr...
|
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
Keith Ferrazzi Books

More Keith Ferrazzi



|
|