Never Eat Alone is an excellent book.
The premise: if you want to be successful, build relationships with people.
Get to know the people you work with, the people who live next door, the people around you. Find out what they want and help them get it. But make sure your motives are pure; if you help people just to get something from them, you probably won’t get it. Help people; expect nothing in return.
I like to help my friends; I’m sure you do, too. I have a friend right now who’s looking for a job, and I’d do anything in my power to help him get one. It’s not that I want anything from him – I just care about him and want him to get what he wants.
Build relationships with people who are like you and with people who are different from you. Find out what they want, what challenges they’re facing, and help them to overcome those challenges and achieve their goals. When you do, they’ll like you and want to help you.
Relationships aren’t only good for you and your career; they’re good for your company, too. As a software consultant, I know that my company benefits when my client likes me, because a client who likes me is more likely to do more
business with my company.
Once you’ve built relationships, be willing to ask for help. If you’re looking for a job, need advice, or are having trouble selling your product, ask someone to help you. If they care about you and are able to help, they will.
This is only a brief overview; Ferrazzi has a lot more to say about other topics, like not being a jerk, connecting with connectors, and building your brand. If you want to learn more, go get the book.