By KAREN CHO
From INSEAD Knowledge (http://knowledge.insead.edu)
라이트닝 바카라 사이트ing is not all that it's cracked up to be; in fact it can even be downright harmful, so says Martin Gargiulo, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD and expert on social 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 analysis.
"We know today that networks are an asset that helps 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 get things done ... (but) networks can also be a liability," says Gargiulo.
At best, networks can be a window to the world that allows 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 to understand and work with the diversity and the complexity of that world. At worst, they can be "blinders" that prevent 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 from doing so.
"If 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r network is composed of people like 라이트닝 바카라 사이트, people who all talk to each other -- what scholars call a "dense" network -- 라이트닝 바카라 사이트're pretty sure 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 understand what's going on in the rest of the organization, but in fact 라이트닝 바카라 사이트're recycling the same information ... The illusion of multiple views confirms 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r own views. But, at some point, 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 find out to 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r surprise that what 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 thought was obvious to everybody, is only obvious to 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 and the people 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 talk to," Gargiulo explains.
That is not to say that all dense networks are bad. At work, for example, Gargiulo says that if 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 have a team that forms a dense network of like-minded individuals, it will be an important resource toward achieving 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r professional goals. But 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 also need a sparse network to bridge outside that team into the larger organization. Otherwise, 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r team may become isolated and unable to get the support it needs to get things done.
"라이트닝 바카라 사이트 need to understand the trade-off between a dense, homogenous network, which can be very comforting and very helpful in a moment of crisis, for example, and a sparse network that allows 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 to reach throughout the organization and beyond. 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 do want to have that closely knit support network around 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 when 라이트닝 바카라 사이트're facing bad times. But it can also be a liability unless 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 combine it with a sparse network that goes beyond that close support group."
STRONG VERSUS WEAK TIES
One key to making networking work for 라이트닝 바카라 사이트, according to Gargiulo, is to differentiate between what network scholars call "strong ties" and "weak ties."
"I like to use the metaphor that networks are like copper or electrical wires. The thicker the wire, the more power it carries; the more 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 can help people, the more people will be willing to invest time and energy in helping 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 out."
But that also makes strong ties costly and, like thick wires, they may not be necessary to keep a relationship going.
Gargiulo cautions against having too wide a network because maintaining all those relationships can detract from the ones that truly matter. He recommends distilling one's network to a core group of "between 20 and 30 ... and sometimes even smaller; 15 or 20," depending on how sociable the person is. These people may change over time (some ties become stronger, some weaker), but there is always a core network that matters, and 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 need to nurture those ties.
"When 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 look at websites like LinkedIn, which can be extremely useful, 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 very quickly see that some people that have huge networks of 400-500 contacts. When 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 study what's going on in those networks, in fact only a very small number of ties are active, in the sense that 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 actually exchange things with them because maintaining relationships takes time."
A SYSTEMATIC APPROACH
To help people better understand the complexities of networking, and subsequently calibrate their own networks to optimal levels, Gargiulo has developed a tool in the form of a social capital questionnaire. 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 answer the questionnaire online and can get a personalized report comparing 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r network with a reference group of 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r choice.
He explains: "The report walks 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 through the composition, the strength of 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r relationships, and how 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r contacts relate to one another, discussing the pros and cons of different types of networks. It also analyses what kind of resources 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 get from these contacts -- how important, how critical those people are for 라이트닝 바카라 사이트."
"One of the things that we learn very clearly in the network analysis research is that those relationships are as consequential for what happens to 라이트닝 바카라 사이트, for 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r ability to get things done and for how 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 think and how 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 view the world, as the relationships that 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 have with each other."
For example, Gargiulo says 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 may think 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 have a relationship that does not seem to be very important. But before relegating that relationship to the back burner, 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 can, with the help of this questionnaire, evaluate if that person is well connected to everybody in 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r network. If so, 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 will then be pre-empted to keep this "critical" relationship alive, because whatever 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 don't do in that relationship may affect the rest of 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r network.
Ultimately, no one is an island. "라이트닝 바카라 사이트 have 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r own abilities and experience, but 라이트닝 바카라 사이트 also have -- and this is crucial for today's jobs -- all the experience, ability (and) knowledge that resides with people in 라이트닝 바카라 사이트r network."
