Creating Lasting Connections and Opportunities

CareerCast - Life-long Career Development

Opportunities are often “hidden” without having career advocates to facilitate them. Yet with those meaningful introductions, many career and entrepreneurial “big breaks” occur. The question is how do you create authentic and mutually beneficial relationships where the risk to help you is worth it to the other person. In this CareerCast, Susan McPherson, CEO of McPherson Strategies and author of THE LOST ART OF CONNECTING: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships, shares how to connect with others (who may be different from you) and generate opportunities that benefit all parties.

Aired September 17, 2021

Biography

SUSAN MCPHERSON is a serial connector, angel investor, and corporate responsibility expert. She is the founder and CEO of McPherson Strategies, a communications consultancy focused on the intersection of brands and social impact. Susan is part of the 50 over 50--Impact 2021 list by Forbes Magazine.

Susan is the author of The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Relationships (McGraw-Hill, 2021). She has 25+ years of experience in marketing, public relations, and sustainability communications, speaking regularly at industry events including Inspirefest/Dublin, BSR, Center for Corporate Citizenship's Annual Summit, DLD and Techonomy, and contributing to the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Forbes. She has appeared on NPR, CNN, USA Today, The New Yorker, New York Magazine and the Los Angeles Times.

Currently, Susan invests in and advises women-led start-ups, including: iFundWomen, Inc., Messy.fm, Our Place, The Riveter, Park Place Payments, Hint Water, Apolitical, Arlo Skye, Giapenta and The Muse. She serves on the boards of USA for UNHCR, The 19th News, and the Lower Eastside Girls Club, and serves on the advisory boards of The List and Alltruists. Additionally, she is a member of the MIT Solve Women and Technology Leadership Group and serves as an adviser to several nonprofits, including Girls Who Code, She’s The First, and The OpEd Project. Susan is a Vital Voices global corporate ambassador. She resides in Brooklyn.

Related Resources

The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships by Susan McPherson (2021)

Kiss Your Dragons: Radical Relationships, Bold Heartsets, & Changing the World by Shawn Nason, Robin Glasco, and Michael Harper (2021)

The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People by Gary Chapman and Paul White (2019)

The Connector's Advantage: 7 Mindsets to Grow Your Influence and Impact by Michelle Tillis Lederman (2019)

Networking for People Who Hate Networking, Second Edition: A Field Guide for Introverts, the Overwhelmed, and the Underconnected by Devora Zack (2019)

Friend of a Friend . . .: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career by David Burkus (2018)

The Seven Levels of Communication: Go from Relationships to Referrals by Michael J. Maher (2016)

Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam Grant (2014)

Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions by Guy Kawasaki (2012)

How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age by Dale Carnegie & Associates (2011)

It’s Not About You: A Little Story About What Matters Most in Business by Bob Burg and John David Mann (2011)

Go-Givers Sell More by Bob Burg and John David Mann (2010)

Read an excerpt from The Lost Art of Connecting: The Gather, Ask, Do Method for Building Meaningful Business Relationships by Susan McPherson.

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Creating Lasting Connections and Opportunities

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