Work From The Inside Out 110: Don’t Take Too Many Short Cuts with Andy Lopata
Andy Lopata has been a specialist in professional relationships and networking for over 20 years. He was called one of Europe's leading business networking strategists by the Financial Times, and a true master of networking by the Independent and Forbes.com. He is the author of five books. Andy is a fellow and a board member of the Professional Speaking Association UK and Ireland, and a fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute, as well as a Master of the Institute for Sales Management. He is also one of just 26 recipients of the PSA's top honor, the Award of Excellence. And, believe me, he didn’t take any shortcuts to accomplish any of those achievements.
Andy came from a background where the expectation was that he'd be a lawyer or an accountant and he did study accountancy, then switched to political science. After two years at a university, he left to work in the music recording industry, something he had dreamed of for a long time. He scouted bands for London Records. Andy bounced around to many jobs in his twenties as he lacked direction. He worked as a civil servant, ran car parks, did sound engineering, tax collecting, worked on film sets, and at some of the finest golf clubs in the world. During this time, he traveled extensively around the world, working all along the way. Some of his jobs lasted a couple of years before he moved on to new places.
In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Andy’s journey:
- Andy said working on film sets was one of his favorite experiences and next to that was working as a steward at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
- He wrote letters home to family and friends as he traveled and kept copies of his writing as he also wanted to become a professional writer.
- Andy’s father started a business networking organization with which Andy worked for seven years. He ran networking groups and developed a training and speaking program.
- He repositioned his career to focus on professional relationships and wrote his two most recent books: Connected Leadership and Just Ask: Why Seeking Support Is Your Greatest Strength.
Andy also hosts The Connected Leadership Podcast in which he interviews a variety of business leaders discussing the role that networks and professional relationships play in leadership success.
Learn more and connect with Andy here:
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