How To SucceedIn Business By Building Relationships (NAPSA)—When it comes to creating a successful business, a company’s greatest assets may be its relationships. A network of contacts—or a Relationship Web—maybe whatit takes to maximize a company’s profits, say Tom Richardson and Augusto (Gus) Vidaurreta, authors of Business Is A Contact Sport (Macmillan, $24.95). “Business is a contact sport, because human contact, connection, and cooperation form the corner- BUSINESS IS NTACT SPORT Relationship Asset Management stones of business,” said Richard- son, who with Vidaurreta left Andersen Consulting in 1988 to form Systems Consulting Group. That consulting business grew from a $150 investment to a $30,000,000 company in seven years. In that period, the company was twice named by Inc. magazine as oneof the fastest. growing private firmsin the nation. To accomplish this, Richardson and Vidaurreta employed a system called Relationship Asset Management (RAM). Relationship Asset Management is a new approach to doing business. increasingly virtual world, solid and long-lasting relationships are ven by relationships, everything,” says Richardson. “Every goal to be gained or risk to be mitigated can be achieved through the proper use of relationships.” Vendors, suppliers, lenders, distributors, charities, universi- Vidaurreta. “To gain tremendous competitive advantage, one needs to look no further than the people you already know and work with.” Business Is A Contact Sport shows managers and entrepreneurs how to recognize all of their company’s relationships as strategic assets—and manage them as such. “Everything in businessis dri- munity are just the tip of the iceberg of rich untapped resources that could become lucrative, mutually fruitful strategic assets. “Ignoring this opportunity,” said Richardson, “is like having a gold mine with rich veins 100 feet deep and only miningthefirst 10 feet.” The book is available at all bookstores and at amazon.com. “In our transaction-driven, still fundamental to success,” said ties, the media and the local com-
