Seeing Networks
Netoworks can be a way to get out of a peripheral position and get new opportunities. What is a network? Networks are just the way of formalising your relationships; individuals and entities such as organisations can be nodes, and the connection between two nodes is called a tie. Usually there's a distinction made between strong ties which are trusted and part of the closer circle, and weak ties like acquaintances. What sort of information and knowledge and opportunity is flowing to you from them? What sort of value are you offering to the broader network? information resources etc. are you able to share and flow.
- Family
- Friends
- Fellow students
- Personal mentors and champions
- Co-founders
- Early Employees
- Investors
- Business partners
- Early Adopters
- Board of directors
- External advisors
- Coaches
It is important to inquire how you maintain and cultivate your network for strong bonds through which information can flow? How do you extend your network? What specific actions and practices are you taking so your network can diversify and broaden?
What are the limitations and biases in your network? How can you broaden it and overcome these hidden spots? Especially important if you are in a peripheral position and this doesn't come naturally to you. Want to become more strategic about it, who do you have, who do you need to unlock an opportunity and how can I achieve that? Build the network before it is needed. Watch Quincy on Netflix.
Remember to build your network before you need to call on it. Make meaningful connections, provide value yourself. You don't always take from your network, you provide to it. Seeing your network/team, you can classify it, on the surface, into 3 categories:
Boundary Spanning Networks
Distant versus close. Do you have network ties that go across a certain boundary. A boundary could be a different field, industry, demographic, social class etc. Through this connection across a boundary you have a access to knowledge not available in your own discipline and provides opportunities for learning. Cross-fertilization can also occur, allowing a new perspective on ideas from different backgrounds. This can facilitate "recombination" and innovation. E.g. brainstorming activity with an artist and an engineer.
If we don't have boundary spanners in our team, we have a more homogenous crowd. What this establishes is common ground and trust/collaboration. This allows very complex information to flow very easily.
Homophily and Heterophily
Similarity versus diversity. How similar are the people that surround you? Similarity evokes trust and stimulates exchange of more sensitive information. Cultural matching also makes people feel more comfortable in their day-to-day interactions and extreme situations (Rivera 2012). Similarity also creates a reference group against which you compare your own abilities and views. This is homophily. People tend to hire people similar to themselves.
On the other hand, diversity creates awareness for divergent experiences and perspectives; may offer insight on how to solve problems. Diversity challenges deeply ingrained assumptions and views that people may have built through engagement with similar others. Being able to draw on different people's ideas and experiences requires leadership and more managerial action to make sure everyone's ideas are heard. Allows you to grow and see opportunities you wouldn't have otherwise seen.
Brokerage and closure
A "broker" on the left can connect parties that wouldn't otherwise be connected. They connect dispersed nodes, and bridge potential holes. Useful to break into very tight knit communities/networks like niche clubs. Brokers occupy a powerful position of connecting people on the inside to people on the outside. Unique first-hand access to new knowledge, unlocks opportunities for others and also the potential to charge a fee. E.g. needed to access investment funds as they prefer recommendations
A dense network is one where referrals and recommendations are necessary to break into. It has an intensive knowledge exchange with rapid information diffusion due to high trust.