Relationships are the foundation of everything we do, both personally and professionally. Building and nurturing networks of friends, colleagues, customers, and other contacts is a valuable investment that rewards us many times over. We all like to be liked, and everyone knows that social networking is important and powerful, but how can you quantify the value of your relationships?

Mike Dulworth, author of The Connect Effect: Building Strong Personal, Professional, and Virtual Networks, recently interviewed about the positive outcomes that result from strong networks. He reminds us that “positive unintended things occur as a result of your network – like having someone call you up out of the blue with an amazing new job opportunity.”

Chris Bucholtz of InsideCRM reports about new evidence that good customer relationships can prevent robbery. He cites a report stating that by bank employees greeting their customers in a personal and friendly manner, their robberies decreased 35% in one year. The conclusion is that potential robbers are less likely to commit crimes where they have personal connections.

So make sure to build those positive relationships! You never know when you might benefit by an unexpected stroke of good luck or averted disaster.