
DATE: Sunday, June 22, 1997                 TAG: 9706210545

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY AKWELI PARKER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  107 lines

FILL YOUR ROLODEX - OR DIE KEEPING IN TOUCH KEEPS YOU EMPLOYED, SAUTHOR SAYS

In 1988, envelope maker and entrepreneur Harvey Mackay instructed small fry in how to navigate the corporate food chain with his book ``Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive.''

Lots of readers bit, snapping up 4.5 million copies and putting the title at the top of the New York Times list for more than a year.

These days, Mackay is chumming the waters with ``Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty,'' an easy-reading collection of anecdotes, advice and axioms on the proper worship of that all-important desk idol - the Rolodex.

For workers who don't have a golden parachute, the trusty Rolodex is a priceless safety net, says Mackay.

Reason: the days of working 40 years and getting a gold watch are over.

``You don't fall in love with your company,'' says Mackay, ``because your company is not necessarily going to fall in love with you.''

His own business card collection contains somewhere on the order of 6,500 contacts, whom he keeps organized with the Sharkware software he helped develop.

And he claims to stay in touch with all of those folks, using what he calls the 80/20 rule: pay the most attention to about 20 percent of the folks, who in turn provide about 80 percent of the value.

Meet Mackay in person, and one can almost fathom how he finds the energy, if not the time, to do it. A fit-and-trim 64, he's up running at 6:30 a.m. most days; he has done 10 marathons.

On Sundays he rifles through his files thinking of creative ways to stay in touch with contacts: remembering birthdays, clipping out articles or sending novelty gifts.

Mackay swung through Hampton Roads Thursday and Friday - one of the final stops on a 34-city tour to drum up support for ``Dig Your Well Before You're Thirsty,'' which debuted in April and hit the Times' bestseller list shortly thereafter.

He mined the book for some choice excerpts for business students at Regent University, where he spoke Thursday night.

``If you think you're indispensable,'' he told them, ``stick your finger in a bowl of water. Take it out and watch the hole it leaves.''

He said he hires the best people he can find, people who exclaim ``T.G.I.M. - Thank God it's Monday,'' when they come to work.

Another tip to avoid becoming fish food: Research your customer like you're the IRS, then schmooze him to death.

Digging your well, though, doesn't require a Golden Shovel - in fact, most schmoozees will see right through insincerity. Instead, says Mackay, take a genuine interest in people and find a way to set yourself apart.

If the messages sound familiar, that's because they are: all of his books could be titled ``Prepare to Win,'' he says.

But `` `Prepare to Win' is dull and boring and doesn't sell books,'' admits Mackay.

So instead he dresses them up with catchy titles like ``Swim With the Sharks,'' ``Dig Your Well,'' and ``Beware the Naked Man Who Offers You His Shirt.''

So why should anyone believe some envelope manufacturer from ``the fly-over state'' of Minnesota?

Mackay says don't take his word for it, judge the book by its cover. Specifically, the back cover, where he has lined up an arsenal of testimonials from famous friends. Charles Schwab. Larry King. Norman Vincent Peale. Ted Koppel. All people he's met through networking.

A firm believer in axioms, he sprinkles his books and conversations with ``Mackay's Maxims,'' personal nuggets of wisdom that could be refugees from ``Life's Little Instruction Book.''

Cream doesn't rise to the top, it works its way up.

``Please, don't ever be boring,'' Mackay implored his audience of Regent University students. ``Don't ever be predictable. Be a differentiator.''

As is his fashion, Mackay hammers home the point with a story.

This one was about New York City.

``Ninety-five percent of the cab drivers are rude and caustic,'' he began.

But once, after coming in through LaGuardia International Airport, he met an exception - his cab was clean, there was no bullet-proof partition between cabbie and customer, and snacks were neatly arranged on the rear shelf.

``Hi, my name is Wally,'' said the driver cheerfully, handing Mackay a card with a mission statement. His goal: to get the customer to his destination as quickly, courteously and safely as possible.

Mackay said he was flabbergasted. Where did the cab driver learn all this and why'd he do it when being a rude jerk is so much easier?

The cab driver picked it up from a radio talk show. For his trouble, he said, he made about $12,000 to $14,000 in tips over what the average cab driver makes.

Regent law student Tim Brown said he was convinced by the Mackay gospel. In his classes he was told that nearly 87 percent of jobs get filled before they're posted.

``If they're not posted,'' said Brown, ``you gotta know somebody.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON, The Virginian-Pilot

Take a genuine interest in people and differentiate yourself,

advises Harvey Mackay.

Graphic

MACKAY'S MAXIMS

People aren't strangers if you've already met them. The trick is

to meet them before you need their help.

When two people exchange dollar bills, each has only one dollar.

When two people exchange networks, they each have two networks.

One reason people are afraid to network is that they don't want

to hear the word ``no.'' But ``no'' is the second-best answer there