Heidi on Networking

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56C8l4kl XUg

What does Heidi Achieve through her Network?

• • • Roizen – Positions of responsibility – Builds social capital – – Gets job offers (Tandem, Apple, mentor capitalist, Softbank)  Friendship/entertainment Individual others – Connections for jobs – Parties to make new connections – Friendship/advice Organization/Industry – PR for T/Maker – Firms she mentors get status and connections – Industry overall gets more centralized/smaller world money

Changes in network as career shifts

• • • • Individual actor making connections (Tandem, Stanford, T/Maker) To high status player leveraging connections (Apple) To broker bridging connections (mentor capitalist) To a nucleus interacting with other nucleii. (Softbank)

Heidi and You

• • • Describe Heidi’s personality Are you similar/different from her in terms of personality? Do you like Heidi? Would you be her friend?

• Now describe Heidi in terms of her approach to cultivating friends and contacts? Are you similar or different?

• What tactics does Heidi use to build and leverage contacts? What tactics do you use to build and leverage contacts?

• • • •

How does Roizen maintain and develop her network?

Style – – – – – – Outspoken and honest Both “warm” and “hard” Team oriented Likes mentoring Smart and pleasant Fun– doesn’t make networking seem calculative Uniqueness – One of few women in Silicon valley – Successfully mixes personal and professional ties Principles – Maximizes value of conversations – – – – – – Invests time in “interesting” people Keeps confidences Practices consistency and performance/builds predictability and trust Practices and expects reciprocity Shows respect and empathy towards others Only connects people when there is room for both to benefit Activities – Attends conferences/meetings – – – – – Joined industry groups Undivided attention in conversations Emails after initial meeting Open door policy Dinner parties

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Heidi Roizen

Principles for network development and maintenance: – Performance – Consistency – Reciprocity Ways to describe network characteristics: Range/Breadth (access to info./resources) - Strength/Depth (strong vs. weak ties) - Closure (redundancy)

Diagnosing Networks

• • • Network diversity Here value is added through the different kinds of sectors you are able to reach. Ask yourself: which groups/sectors/cliques/types of people am I overemphasizing in my network? Which ones do I need more of?

Network Depth – One can distinguish between strong and weak ties. Strong ties are typically with people we especially trust, people who we rely upon for professional/career support. Weak ties on the other hand are often with people with don’t know well/may be different from us. We often ignore the importance of weak ties when in fact they are often the source of new/novel unanticipated information and change. Ask yourself: do you have lots of strong ties but few weak ones? Should you be building more strong ties? Weak ties?

Network Density – Density is a measure of overall network connectivity. Research suggests that sparse networks can be valuable because they provide opportunities for brokerage (one can gain from connecting otherwise unconnected others); but dense networks tend to provide support and clarity of identity. Is your network excessively sparse/dense?

Tactics for Network Development

• • Identify groups/people who: – Can help you learn new skills – Be doorways to new opportunities – Can provide career advice/support Identify gaps and redundancies – Avoid over and under-representation (too may or too few of a kind of person).

– Missing key people or groups – Overreliance on one or more individuals – – Ties that need strengthening/weakening.

The need to create/fill structural holes (i.e., should you connect two that are unconnected or keep them disconnected?)

How to Maintain Networks Like Heidi

• • • • Use your strong ties to help you break into new circles Create links across sectors of your networks Help people you are tied to develop the ties they need.

Take advantage of who you are and what you offer.

Resources

• • • • • • • Leadership: Online Resource: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm

Tracy Kidder’s “Soul of a new machine.” Social Networks: Download and install UCINET (version 6.29) from: http://www.analytictech.com/downloaduc6.htm

Malcolm Gladwell’s “The Tipping Point” Alber-Laszlo Barabasi’s “Linked: How everything is connected to everything else and what it means” Cross, R. & Parker, A. “The hidden power of social networks: Understanding how work really gets done in organizations.” • • • More specialized books on social networks: http://www.insna.org/INSNA/books_inf.html

Link to INSNA: http://www.sfu.ca/~insna/ Social Networks Analysis for Newbies