ENDORSEMENTS

I first heard from my daughter, Michelle, about Ricky Steele and his idea for a new community outreach concept to involve visiting conventioneers in Atlanta service projects. My response -- “Noble theory, but it won’t work.” Little did I know of Ricky’s connections, energy and determination. Through the power of his network and the partnership with Hands On Atlanta, great things have occurred. I have never been more pleased to say, “I was wrong,” and to be reminded again of Margaret Mead’s quote, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world -- indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Sam Nunn
CEO
Nuclear Threat Initiative
Former United States Senator

I have had the pleasure of knowing Ricky for over 20 years. He is a master at building relationships to the betterment of all. Ricky is someone that everyone seems to know whether the person is a doorman, sales person, hotel general manager or CEO. He treats them all equally and as peers. Ricky has been tireless in his effort to reach out to the disenfranchised in our community. Atlanta’s Table and Hospitality Helping Hands were both his brainchildren and have become models of good citizenship for the hospitality industry across the country. This book should help you understand what the Golden Rule and Servant Leadership is all about from a true example in Ricky.

Spurgeon Richardson
President & CEO
Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau

Ricky Steele is a remarkably gifted person, he is a born entrepreneur, or should I say "a born again entrepreneur", who demonstrates his faith in his words and his actions.

Mr. William B. Turner
Chairman of the Executive Committee (Retired)
W. C. Bradley Company & Synovus Financial

BOOK STORE

READER COMMENTS

Ricky, your book is wonderful. You are just the best and I am proud of your accomplishments and consider myself fortunate to have been one of your stops along the way.
Retired owner of one of Atlanta’s largest Public Relations Agencies

I highly recommend this book to anyone in the Recruiting and/or Human Resources Profession –or Anyone who deals with people!
Senior Vice President-Atlanta Search Firm

Make a world in which you succeed and everyone benefits.

When Ricky Steele came to Atlanta from Columbus, Georgia, he didn’t know a soul outside of family members. Within months, he was at the heart of the city’s business community and, over the years, has built one successful enterprise after another, enjoying association with the likes of The Coca-Cola Company, Korn/Ferry International, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, among many others.

As Allan DeNiro, former Vice Chairman of the Board for Chicago-based candy giant Brach and Corporate Vice President of Turner Broadcasting, recently remarked, “Ricky Steele simply knows everybody.”

Good luck? A miracle?

Not at all. Just hard work, hard and smart.

In practical, straightforward, real-world language, The Heart of Networking reveals the secrets of building your own business network. That means nothing less than making a business environment that enables and promotes your own success by creating satisfaction among clients, customers, colleagues, bosses, investors, and the community. Steele’s little book is a blueprint for business life, and while it requires a lifetime commitment to an ethic of service and excellence, the networking system offered here also pays immediate dividends.

In nine candid and concise chapters, The Heart of Networking presents Ricky Steele’s own remarkable story and tells you step by step--

How to get your reality ready for you
How to make those first all-important networking connections
How to create a savvy networking strategy and deploy effective networking tactics
How to overcome resistance in others
How to invest in networking
How to make the most of networking events
How to take ownership of your networking contacts
How to reach the people with the power to do business with you

The Epilogue, which concludes the book, is a revealing look at a philosophy of networking that is also a plan for life:

How to win friends, not arguments

“You see,” Steele explains, “a successful networker understands and believes that his or her first mission has nothing to do with selling anything to anybody. The mission of networking is to build relationships, which may or may not lead directly to business one day. Build enough relationships, and you have created an environment favorable to your success. Instead of scrambling for a sale on Tuesday and another on Friday, you will have enabled a universe of potential customers and clients, who, collectively, produce a steady stream of sales for which you need not scramble.”