I had many years of experience as an organizer of networking events when I decided to write this book. I was motivated to do so after seeing so many networking events fail. Putting hundreds of people in one room does not mean the right people will meet. That is not what makes a networking event.

At most networking events, the majority of the budget and attention goes to food or what happens on stage. Overcrowded rooms, loud music, or lengthy programs make it impossible for people to meet. Very little thought is given to whom to invite, how to make sure they will come, and how to guarantee the right encounters will take place.

This is where my experience in protocol comes in. While I was a student, I founded Protocolbureau, an organization specialized in providing operational support at high-level events. Protocol was originally developed by the European monarchies since a king or queen has very little time but has to talk to many people. Protocol is a way to stage personal attention based on specific predetermined goals.

By translating the royal protocol into a contemporary version, we were able to apply protocol at networking events, fashion shows, and even dance events. It gave us a way to guarantee the right encounters would take place.

Professionalizing networking events alone turned out not to be enough. Building and managing a strong network for the entire organization requires implementing professional relationship management on strategic, tactical, and operational levels.

I took the initiative to further develop our vision and did so with the help of a Supervisory Board and Advisory Board consisting of relationship management experts from the public and private sectors and academic experts.

The collaboration with Prof. René Foqué, Monica Bakker, Robert Collignon, and Gerty Smit started when we were given the opportunity to develop a minor in relationship management, first at The Hague University of Applied Science and later at the Hotelschool The Hague.

By this time, I had founded my second company, the Institute of Strategic Relationship Management (isrm), and we had developed the minor into a program for professionals, the so-called postgraduate Strategic Relationship Management.