Next Steps to Building a High Tech Economy

If you're charged up about reforming Pittsburgh's tech economy but wondering what you can do by yourself, here's one concrete suggestion: Read Keith Ferrazzi's book, and then act on it.

Keith is a Latrobe native, a former Chief Marketing Officer, and now a motivational speaker and consultant. His specialty: what used to be called "networking" and what he describes as building relationships. His writing is breezy and conversational in a Business Best Seller kind of way, but if you actually read the book -- and if you don't read it cynically, as just another "networking" book -- then you can take away some important lessons that work both professionally and personally. The key is: Reach out to people, all the time, and give away your time, your ideas, and your energy without expecting anything in return. I've read the book, and I've met Keith, and I've participated in one of his seminars. His enthusiasm is absolutely infectious, and the method, despite its "pop" tone, does work.

There's a taste of the method in a free online piece at Inc. magazine: http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030101/25049.html

The book is Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time, available at amazon.com.

Keith has a "never eat alone" blog at http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog/