It’s Who You Know

How a network of 12 key people can fast-track your success
It’s Who You Know by Janine Garner

Never has the phrase it’s not what you know, it’s who you know been more pertinent than in today’s digital society. And, in this book, Janine Garner showshow she goes about creating her successful network, whilst sharing tips on how it could work for the reader.

She shows that simply having a large number of connections on various social media platforms isn’t necessarily the most helpful way of achieving your goals – while it’s satisfying to see an ever-growing list of contacts, they may not be the right people to help you progress.

She therefore sets out that you should firstly seek out your ‘Core Four’ (Promoter, Pit Crew, Teacher and Butt-Kicker, as referred to in her article in the October/November issue of Executive PA magazine). You should then enhance that small group s o you have a select posse of 12, each with specific roles – although they don’t need to know what their role is.

Not only does she tell you about these 12 types of people; she also gives details of the contacts you should try to exclude – these are people who’ll restrict your potential and possibly stop you from succeeding, such as the Backstabber and the Dream Stealer.

Overall, I found the style of writing flowed easily and I enjoyed her use of creative titles such as Cheerleader and Butt-Kicker. No fancy words: this describes exactly what these people do. There a number of exercises too, to help you find your Core Four and the rest of your network, plus she gives links and references to other resources that may be helpful.

The only negative I could find was that there was a fair amount of repetition of key points, which at times made it read more like a presentation – but this means the overall message is loud and clear: if you want to progress in your career, you need to associate yourself with the people who are right for you and can help you do that.