Rao’s, the legendary east Harlem Italian eatery, is more than a hundred blocks above the Wall Street. But with a clientele that includes some of the corporate America’s leading lights, big business is never far away. Consider the table hosted one night last year by Rao’s regular, Richard (Bo) Dietl—he was joined by General Electric’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, NBC chairman Bob Wright and Law & Order creator Dick Wolf. Wolf was just entering negotiations for a new contract for Law & Order to keep running on GE-owned NBC. No one signed any contracts or haggled over figures that night. But not long after, NBC announced it would broadcast Law & Order through 2008. Wolf says now that Dietl’s dinner at Rao’s was key to smoothing out the negotiations: “It was enormously helpful for him to get us all together in that setting.”
With his just-published book, Business Lunchatations, Dietl hopes to launch himself as the authority on how everyone can sharpen his networking social skills.
In his $7,000 Italian suits, Dietl tells tales of his adventures with the rich and famous; golfing with former GE chairman Jack Welch, fly-fishing with former PepsiCo chairman Roger Enrico, dining a deux with Viacom’s Sumner Redstone or comparing notes on private jets with his pal Donald Trump. Dietl says he’s earned these men’s trust by making it clear he wants nothing more than to show them a good time and share a good laugh. “You don’t do this thinking, oh, what business can I get out of them?” he says. “You do it for sheer friendship. And then the good things just come out.” Corporate bosses say they appreciate the sell. “Bo’s a guy you want to do a favor for,” says Welch, “because you know he’ll do a favor for you.”
In his book, of course, Dietl urges readers to do more than just be nice to strangers and wait for good karma. Networking tips range from how to listen and ask questions in conversations with strangers—eye contact, upright posture and clarifying questions are musts—to practical pointers like “keep going back to the buffet”(to increase the number of contacts at a crowded event) and “wear an original accessory” (to ensure sticking out in a new acquaintance’s mind). Still, Dietl says the most commonly missed secret of networking is starting with the human touch. “If there’s going to be business, possibly there could be business,” he says. “But it’s gotta start out from the friendship side.”
26. Wolf has come to believe that the reason Law & Order was extended to 2008 was ________.
27. By referring to Dietl’s book, the author intends to show ________.
28. It is implied that you can improve your networking skills by ________.
29. Dietl concludes that the most important thing to do is to ________.
30. The best title for this text might be ________.
