Business Networking and Sex - Ivan Misner [2]
As founder and president of Entrepreneurial Excellence Worldwide Inc., and through the ProActive Leadership Center, Frank’s seminars motivate professionals globally. His presentations have been translated into Japanese, Chinese, German, French, and Dutch.
His competitive flair touches all that he does and drove him to compete in the Golden Gloves Boxing trials at age 30, as well as earn a sixth-degree black belt in Okinawan Goju Ryu Karate.
Hazel M. Walker, alias, “She Says”
When Hazel found herself the reluctant owner of an insurance agency, having zero experience in either the insurance field or being a business owner, she knew she had a lot to learn fast. In the process she learned that she loved networking and connecting others. As a BNI and Referral Institute franchise owner, Hazel has been teaching professionals how to grow their businesses through the art of referral for 13 years. Her multiple contributing-author projects, Toastmaster Bronze status, and membership in the National Speakers Association all add to the rich array of experiences she draws on for the wisdom of this book.
Her volunteerism includes Big Brothers Big Sisters, Business Ownership Initiative, the Warren Township PTA, and the Indiana State PTA, at which she earned the Indiana State PTA Lifetime Membership Award.
Inspired by her children, Hazel’s deep curiosity and yearning to learn attracts her to global travel and adventure. Her special interests include learning about craft beers, hosting tastings, and pairing beers for women who want to learn more. She has a passion for helping women business owners create businesses that they love, allowing them to live the life they choose.
Lucky you! You’ve got three seasoned guides to escort you step by step through the rocky terrain of gender communication conflict, in an easy-to-absorb system. Each chapter presents quantitative survey respondents’ opinions and quotes, interpreted by me (The Survey), and a spirited discussion of these sometimes contradictory, sometimes surprising findings by He (Frank) and She (Hazel).
He and She will help you interpret difficult subject matter through the very important differing perspectives of each gender. The supplemental data, combined with Hazel and Frank’s brutal honesty and my voice of reason, make for a bumpy, if not thrilling, ride. Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gents: It’s going to be wild!
Introduction
The Survey Says . . .
Over a four-year period, more than 12,000 businesspeople participated in a study focused around 25 simple questions. Beyond irritating you, the answers may also make you excited and motivated to learn.
As we sift through the statistical analysis, the last thing you’ll do is yawn; rather,you’ll probably be recalling your own emotionally loaded responses to the electrical storms that occur between the genders as we struggle to understand one another within the quickly evolving and competitive arena of business.
Be brave! You can handle it. Take a deep breath, and when you feel like giving one of our authors or study subjects a piece of your mind, bite your lip and keep reading, for when all is said and done, you’ll walk away with something equivalent to a graduate degree in “network speak for the other sex.”
You may wonder what the impetus was for a study on business, networking, and sex. Having run the world’s largest business networking organization for almost three decades, it would be an understatement to say that I’ve witnessed men and women experience some networking-specific communication challenges. Hidden in the glitches are often misleading assumptions about each gender that beg to be investigated, unveiled, and understood.
The results of our study unearthed astounding breakthroughs that will change the habits and results of your face-to-face networking process.
In a desire to understand the communication roadblocks that occur between women