Monthly Archives: June 2011

Can you spot the overseas-born Chinese woman?

By Sam Hedlund | Published: June 29, 2011

Monica Tan, an Austrailian-born, ethnically Chinese writer in Beijing, put together a slideshow including herself alongside Chinese people, to test whether a stranger on the street can really guess her nationality. As James Fallows notes , this is a great followup to the series Fallows wrote a few months ago titled “Walk Like an American,” about what mannerisms or other traits [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Austrailia, Beijing, body language, China, culture, James Fallows | Leave a comment

Father’s Day: What my Dad taught me about building bridges to make a difference

By Sam Hedlund | Published: June 19, 2011

I think I originally learned bridge-building from my parents, and especially my father, who has a talent not only for finding what he has in common with others, but taking the next step to use that commonality to claim the voice and authority needed to make a difference. I first noticed this at a young [...]

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Matt Damon in The Departed: The pick-up artist as networking genius

By Sam Hedlund | Published: June 19, 2011

I give advice on developing professional relationships, not romantic ones (because I don’t teach anything, like brain surgery, in which I haven’t reached an exceptional level of mastery myself). But lately I’ve been noticing the lessons that the strengths–and weaknesses–of how men approach women can teach us about networking. Because of the different stakes and different etiquette, sometimes [...]

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged books, business cards, demonstrating value, Keith Ferrazzi, movies, networking, people, personal branding, pick-up artists, pop culture, relationships, social capital, young professionals | Leave a comment

Harvard Business School elevator pitch builder

By Sam Hedlund | Published: June 18, 2011

The elevator pitch is an easy and important tool for telling your story to anyone. I’ve found elevator-pitch practice to be one of the most helpful parts of the career training in my MBA program, and in turn it’s been a very helpful tool as I’ve worked with one of my coaching clients. (Contact me if you’re [...]