A book about building and managing a strong network and reciprocal relationships for the entire organisation
By implementing a professional relationship management approach at strategic, tactical and operational level
Professional relationship management makes valuable and measurable contributions to the strategic goals of an organisation
In an increasingly connected world, strategic relationship management is a vital capability for successful organisations. The book Managing Authentic Relationships; Facing New Challenges in a Changing Context focuses on building and managing a strong network and reciprocal relationships for the entire organisation by implementing a professional relationship management approach at strategic, tactical and operational level.
The book also offers a holistic view. Managing authentic relationships requires a shared understanding of what relationships are. It is impossible to develop successful relationship management without authentic relationships based on trust and reciprocity.
The chapters of the book
Managing Authentic Relationships
- The book about relationship management Managing Authentic Relationships; Facing New Challenges in a Changing Context starts in the Chapters 1 and 2 by explaining what reciprocal relationships and meaningful networks are and why it is so important for organisations to know the right people.
- Chapter 3 is about developing a tailor-made networking vision, an organisation’s own view on why networks and relationships are important.
- In Chapter 4 the book continues with the relationship management strategy, the translation of the goals of the organisation into goals specifically for the relationship management.
- How to explore the broader set of participants in the value network is discussed in Chapter 5 about mapping the external stakeholders.
- The relationship management plan about managing relationships in Chapter 6 describes the implementation of the relationship management strategy.
- Chapter 7 describes the use of data in steering, monitoring, and improving relationships.
- Chapter 8 explores the economics of relationship management by calculating the Return-on-Relationship.
- In Chapter 9, performance is discussed in the context of strategic relationship management.
- The internal responsibility for and implementation of relationship management is addressed in Chapter 10, as is the organising principle of networks with networkers, networking teams, and managers of the network.
- Chapter 11 is about change, as in most organisations the implementation of professional relationship management is new.
- The book concludes with a chapter about supporting the networkers (12) and organising effective networking events with measurable results (13).
The authors of ‘Managing Authentic Relationships’:

Jean Paul Wijers

Monica Bakker

Gerty Smit

Robert Collignon
This post is also available in: Dutch