initial look at social networks

The readings bring up some interesting ideas...I remembered the article about Lois Weisberg from The Tipping Point. It really is amazing how some people develop such vast networks. When I read about someone like that, it makes me think of people on the other end of the spectrum, too...those who are scarcely known outside of their immediate circles. The other articles touch upon working both of these types of people into the framework of a successful business. After all, we can talk about knowing people or not knowing people all day, but in the end it comes back to how effectively this proverbial web of relationships can be managed.

I never really thought about the bottleneck aspect as much and how it could actually be negative for someone to be so heavily relied on. In the Weisberg article, it brings up the idea that most of a person's friends can be attributed to his/her relationship with a particular person. This is similar to an organization where multiple groups have one common link. For that bottleneck person it's probably good to know so many people (although it could get stressful or too burgeoning) but the overall organization may suffer. This is where good management can make its mark and shift some of this emphasis to balance the load more effectively. The MIT Sloan review is spot on in mentioning those who think they know most are usually wrong. The point about less communication is sometimes more also strikes a chord after being bombarded with email at work this summer. I do have to say, though, my organization (a large global bank) did a pretty job of embodying many of the ideas outlined in the readings.

Overall, dealing with people is a dynamic activity. People's attitudes change, they change locations...seldom is the same from one day to the next. No matter what this change is, however, they interact with others is still necessary. Insight into this process and how communication is developed and subsequently dispersed can be very valuable when managing an organization.