This arrived in our website inbox over the recent holidays:
From: Jack Killion jkillion@eaglerockfund.com
For over 40 entrepreneurial years I have been starting and developing diverse businesses including various consumer and business magazines, real estate development, industrial equipment manufacturing, thoroughbred horse breeding and racing, venture capital, hedge fund investing and strategic consulting.
One of the real keys to being able to navigate successfully through wisely diversified businesses are the skills that I taught myself to network and develop significant relationships that have generated major personal, family and professional benefits.
My book: Network All The Time, everywhere with everybody is now available on Amazon.com and is described on the book’s web site at: networkallthetime.com. The book is aimed at anyone who can benefit from honing their own networking skills, including corporate “C” level and other executives; professionals in accounting, law, consulting, financial advisory and other professional firms; leaders in charities, government agencies, and universities and business owners.
Those in transition and looking for new opportunities, and young people in college, needing to create their futures will learn from the book.
For the past several years I have also been coaching a broad range of individual and organization clients to develop and use these skills to accelerate their own careers and help drive the profitable growth of their organizations while enhancing their personal and family lives.
The approach of book is very much “how to” and is loaded with examples of techniques that work.
It is never too early or too late to put effort into sharpening these skills. We bought our son his first business cards when he was 12. He is now 32 with exceptional networking skills. We bought my 95-year-old mom her first business cards when she was in a nursing home. They made her feel special in a not very special environment and she had fun in her later years handling out cards to others living, working or visiting the nursing home.
It would be great if my book helped me re-establish connections with some of my classmates.
Jack Killion
Yale – Class of 1959, Mechanical Engineering
Entrepreneur, Investor, Strategic Advisor and Coach, Educator and Author
Jack,
Thanks for your posting and your confirmation that networking has great value, as do skills that enhance personal and family lives. I have business cards (perhaps “connection cards” is an equally good name for them) handy — I look forward to the unexpected “miracles of connection” that may result from even the most casual, informal meetings. Outcomes often have a lot to do with how I hold myself and those around me. I wish I had been more savvy decades ago in Saybrook College. Wisdom comes slowly with age.
Best wishes,
Kent
Kent,dumb me, I have not been checking our class web site. I posted about my book but never expected anybody to notice. Your email and our just finished phone call really justified me writing the book. How awesome we re-connected after more than 50 years!
Next time you come to NJ please try to save time for coffee, eggs,lunch, dinner etc. My treat!
Again thanks for reaching out. Enjoy the long weekend.
Jack, You are welcome, and thanks for your call and the follow-up comment on Yale59.com. It is awesome that we have re-connected after more than 50 years.
I have modest expectations regarding responses on the site. I posted an opinion piece, many weeks ago, about refugees and terrorists in the hope it would spark a conversation, particularly about my suggestion that terrorists want revenge, recognition (publicity), and reaction. To date, no responses.
Thanks for the invitation. I will see how Cynthia and I might fit in visit when we are next in NJ.
Jack ,
Nice to know that a few of us engineers can write and even get in print. Seems to me that we were considered semi-literate by the liberal arts dudes, and insane for walking up “gallows hill” for classes. Latter perception was correct. Still write. Fourth book–Murder in Grand Cayman– due out in spring.
Best to you,
Dave Fogg ’59 Chem E
Dave,
I chuckle at your notion about “liberal arts dudes” and wish you well with your fourth book. Please send be a notice when it is out in print. Perhaps because my father was EE and one of my Yale roommates was ME, and because the best and the brightest of the students I knew at the UofIdaho were Chem E majors, I cannot associate myself with the semi-literate description.
What is profoundly significant for me, as I read your piece in Frienships is the way you have made your way through a roller coaster life with a bipolar disorder.
We have something in common: an appreciation for Jonathan Spence’s Making of Modern China and Hajo Holborn’s European History.
Best wishes,
Kent
Dave,
I chuckle at your notion about “liberal arts dudes” and wish you well with your fourth book. Please send me a notice when it is out in print. Perhaps because my father was EE and one of my Yale roommates was ME, and because the best and the brightest of the students I knew at the UofIdaho were Chem E majors, I cannot associate myself with the semi-literate description.
What is profoundly significant for me, as I read your piece in Frienships is the way you have made your way through a roller coaster life with a bipolar disorder.
We have something in common: an appreciation for Jonathan Spence’s Making of Modern China and Hajo Holborn’s European History.
Best wishes,
Kent
Dave, thanks for reaching out. Four books deserves a Wow! I will run them down and hopefully connect with you on Linkedin.
Back in the old Yale days I was a horrible writer. Since then, in developing my diversified career, I have put into writing the magic 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell thinks is critical to developing strong skills of any type. So, still not sure how well I write, but at least now I am fast!.
Cheers. Jack
Kent: I too am just getting used to being on this site so I am just seeing your post from he 17th about terrorist. I have been thinking about the terrorists for a few years.
They are beating us (America) at our own game. We are suppose to be this big time PR/Advertising/Social Media/Brand Building/Marketing country. Given all this reputation, in many parts of the world we are hated and our brand is terrible. We are too often no longer looked at as a global leader. The terrorists have run by us as a high powered marketing/branding/advertising/PR firm. In many parts of the world they are perceived by many to be superior to us.
I do not know why the President doesn’t put together a team of the very best marketing/brand building minds in America and come up with an ongoing program to reverse the decline of our image and reputation. Let’s take the marketing edge away from the terrorists. Let’s turn their brand into “losers.”
We are losing he marketing/branding and PR battle. Does that make any sense?
Jack: Your point about the terrorist (ISIS) beating us at what should be our best game is a very good one. The point makes sense to me.
I have been thinking about the issues as far back as the 1990s, the last decade I taught at the University of Idaho. In a course on world civilizations, the class read and discussed vigorously an article from the Atlantic magazine, “Why do they (Islam in the Middle East) hate us?” Some authorities, then and now, suggest a clash of civilizations, a clash of basic values — human rights, equality between men and women, and a host of other matters. Some authorities suggest that the clash is so basic that conflict is inevitable. I am not certain about that suggestion.
When the question, “Why. . .?” is asked in the reality of the Second Iraq War (which I see as still going on in a larger theater), I find a “clash” of values in everyday life: Americans in many roles, from soldiers to functionaries in the Baghdad “Green Zone” and everywhere else, behaved badly in the eyes of the host nation: They gambled, drank beer, read Playboy, approved of women in scanty dress, maintained an airbase near Mecca, the holy of holy sites (said base has been removed, but the damage was done), and disrespected the Koran, especially in the POW compounds. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Everything positive that the USA had done over the years seemed to make no difference. Hospitals, schools, rebuilt mosques, road systems, sewage plants, campaigns against diseases — all of the best of USAID — counts for little or nothing in the effort to project the most positive face of our country. The PR battle was lost over the course of many years. And most of us were disappointed that the Iraqis did not thank us for toppling a tyrant and trying to modernize their historic nation. Perhaps we were clueless.
I agree with you, that a marketing campaign, using all of full force of modern communications, from print to electronic, is needed right now.
One message could be that we are a peaceful people and have no territorial designs on any country. A second message is that we respect other people and traditions. A third message is that we find certain behaviors unacceptable and will do something about it. There is room for discussion on these and many other talking points.
What do you think?
Kent thanks for your thoughts which obviously hit on key issues.
I wish I was both much smarter and much younger. I would try to find a way to get involved accomplishing two things:
1.Fixing our broken culture. I think most of our basic systems are broken including: leadership and the political process, health care, a weakened military, immigration, education at all levels,the financial system, the economy itself and more. Rampant drug use and the breakdown of the family unit weakens our human infrastructure.
ISIS is not stupid. They must see our challenges at home make it difficult to market our brand
of living. Our global brand is weakening because our story is less compelling and we are doing a terrible job of even selling the story the way it is.
2.Putting together a brilliant, integrated branding and marketing program to convince terrorists and others that ISIS offers no bright future for anyone other than a few leaders at the top. We have to convince people globally that we have a better way.
To make this happen we need to pull the very best thinkers into a room and turn them loose developing a branding and marketing program and budget that works. I obviously don’t have the clout and ability to make this happen but somebody does. Maybe some Yalie with clout can step up and take the lead?
One person I would like to see included on this special team is Tom Friedman, the author. There can’t be too many people with more insight into the Middle East.
But first things first, we have to get the right person elected as our next President and he or she has to surround themselves with the very best talent America has to offer. If this doesn’t happen I think America will really be in trouble both at home and abroad.
Cheers, Jack
Jack, your last post (the one above) continues the very important conversation about the need for a focused, “brilliant, integrated branding and marketing program” that the ISIS future is an illusion from the distant past and we (the West in general, us in particular) have a better way. I agree, too, that the country needs to clean up its act in the many domains you mention.
Getting the best thinkers — especially Tom Friedman — on the special team is part of our national history (think of the scientists in the Manhattan Project).
I think our discussion needs more exposure to the class. Right now it is buried in threads that started with your book. How would it be for you if I initiated a new topic? And the person in Maine who edits our contributions might possibly be able and willing to put some of our posts on the subject under the new topic. The idea is to get more voices in the conversation. For example, Dick Celeste from our college has lots of political experience (Ambassador to India, Governor of Ohio, President of Colorado College). Networking with him could be very productive. What do you think?
Cheers, Kent
Kent: That is an awesome suggestion. If you know how to open the conversation to others please do that. I was in Saybrook College with Dick Celeste and followed his career with interest.
Great going. Let me know how I can help.
Jack
Kent: Thanks for adding your comment about my book on Amazon. Appreciate the support. Hope you will have a great Spring. Jack