A Book Review by Daniel R. Murphy

Title and Author:  Relationship Economics by David Nour  

Synopsis of Content:    

David Nour revisits a common subject of books these days but with a different twist. He identifies the most important resource of a business (and arguably of a person) to be their relationships – who they know and the quality of their relationship with those they know. 

Nour divides relationships into three categories: personal, functional and strategic. He suggests each type of relationship serves different functions and require different approaches to establish and to nourish.  

He argues that relationships are the centric goals for business development whether we realize it or not. He also discusses how our relationships guide us in developing our leadership ability.  

Nour applies Social Network Analysis (SNA) and several other scientific measurement approaches to identify the significance of relationships and to plan for them strategically. The book discusses how to develop relationships, such as those with customers, and how not to. Nour even provides a 30-60-90 day personal relationship plan to build and nurture relationships.  

Nour’s book offers some unique and creative approaches to understanding the significance and power of relationships in our business and in our lives. While he protests that his book is not about using or exploiting people and relationships it is difficult to see how the business application aspects of his book and the strategic applications do not in fact teach one how to utilize relationships and their development to your advantage – a glossy way of saying he shows you how best to use them.  

This book is worth the read. You will undoubtedly learn some valuable ideas about how to establish and grow relationships in the business world. It should be read however with a bit of caution – taken too far the ideas here could be exploitive and contrary to one’s personal integrity. In fairness to Nour, many people use far less strategic thinking to exploit their relationships – he does not advocate exploitation but the tools he teaches would seem to make it far easier to accomplish.  

Readability/Writing Quality:    

The book is quite readable. It is organized like most modern business books with many chapters, sub sections and application or example boxes. While the book has a logical flow it is sometimes difficult to remember what section you are in based on the content.  

Notes on Author:    

David Nour describes himself as a “social networking strategist”. He heads up his own consulting company called BeOne Now.  

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:    

1. The main reason networking does not work is that it lacks purpose, goals, is haphazard and reactive. Learning to plan networking with a definite purpose, a set of goals and a strategic plan makes it far more effective.  

2. Teams should be selected and trained along the “relationship-centric” model; that is, using team members who possess and demonstrate the most relationship functional attributes.  

3. To attract the most influential relationships you must build your relationship currency, what you have to offer to attract the relationships you seek; this currency includes: becoming more interesting by deepening your own horizons and interests, building a personal brand, and becoming known for your high value content. 

Publication Information:    

Relationship Economics by David Nour 

Copyright 2008 by David Nour. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.  

Overall Rating for Book: Good