I googled social netoworking to find a cool picture to put up so I put this picture to the left but this was not the first image that came up. The first image was three lovely ladies with things on their body placed there surgically. I was going to put it up and say hey this is what google told me was social networking but figured I am getting graded on this so I'll keep it PG. However, if that is what Social Networking is about, I'm pretty excited to get reading about this topic.
I read the first article Six Myths About Informal Networks-and How to Overcome Them by Rob Cross, Nitin Nohria and Andrew Parker, because I was lazy, I connected with some of the points and figured I could make some thoughts.
Following those tips advice I will pick a certain topic in each paper and examine it the most. I relate to these kind of topics through the internships I had and also what really hits home would be my track team.
Myth: Build a better network, we have to communicate more:
I would consistently delete emails from people in the Finance department I worked at because they would forward them to everyone who it could relate to. I got to the point I was probably deleting emails that would actually benefit me because I was so use to them being useless information. If they made sure they were sent to people that it would actually matter to, then people would read more of the emails. Other then that it felt like spam. Same thing with the regular Monday meetings. I think it is a good idea to have open communication but not people patting themselves on the back and looking for something to talk about. It wasn’t communicating more from each person but just the people who seem to think they know everything talk about nothing.
My track team there isn’t much communicating with our coach this lets us learn from the mistakes we make, With him everything we do is a mistake and when its discussed there isn’t much communication. It more is in the lines of him yelling for 45 minutes and you saying “Yes Coach, No coach, Because I’m a (bad word) coach.”
The problem with there reality check of building a better network focus on who knows what is stupid. To find out who knows what you have to talk to everyone and make your way through those who are talking out of something other then there mouths and those who know it but can’t speak because that other guy won’t shut up. A good manager should be able to see through this quickly and find the person and after a while know who to go to first.
I went down and read the articles and tried to find a few that had interesting titles and found the second article coincidentally as an eye catching title. The People Who Make Organizations Go-Or Stop, by Rob Cross and Laurence Prusak. I wondered if the article would talk about characteristics and tell where a person with my personality would fit in with the growth of an organization. The article wasn’t about this and was boring but I read into it and didn’t want to keep searching for articles.
My problem with this analysis of connections was how they don’t go into how people have what seems to be a natural ability to be in the know and what kind’ve characteristics fit into this mold of being someone who knows who to know and why. The article seems to be more geared on connections as something of a job title and forced responsibility as much as a way people learn to interact with others. I’d find an article more interesting if they went into why and how those who have the social networking knowledge came about with the ability to know more then others.
I’m tired and that article took a lot out of me and I’m not following the guidelines to writing good articles because this has gotten long. I also have to be up early tomorrow to run in the frigid cold which might be worse then the long run we had to do this afternoon with the wind blowing. I cried on the inside.
The last article I read was A Practical Guide to Social Networks by Rob Cross (who seems to have writing everything), Jeanne Liedtka, and Leigh Weiss.
What I found important was the different kinds of social networks of Customized Response Modular Response, and Routine Response. I looked at it and tried to figure which network I would wish to belong to. I was able to immediately take out routine response. Imagine everyday solving familiar problems with responses you already know that are efficient, consistent and are all internal. So cross that off.
Then its between customized and modular. Both are tough problems but customized you must find innovative solutions, thinking outside the box while modular is you know the problem just how to go about it. The network connections for customized are dense and redundant which could be tough if you don’t like who you’re talking to or if they aren’t holding up there side is tough to deal with. Modular you can adapt roles and change positions to get a response. I decided to go with customized figuring you get something new everyday to try and figure out which would sound fun. I won’t ruin it by saying what examples are for each group it is at the bottom of the graph on page 3. I’ll just send a link maybe help those looking for a job who are wondering what environment they would feel comfortable in.
http://sixdegrees.wikidot.com/local--files/reading-history/practicalguide.pdf
There was an interview with Rob Cross the guy who wrote most the articles on Social Network I read its short and interesting I’d recommend reading it.
2 comments:
Briguy - Just read your novel of a blog post and although it just took ten minutes of my life away that i will never get back, you brought up some interesting points.
You stated that "In order to build a better network we need to communicate" as a myth, i believe that communication will build you a greater network. I agree that sending fowarded emails explaining how great you are is probably not the best way, but it is a start. Trust is a major factor when dealing with clients, co-workers and if you don't know who you are dealing with, that trust is non-existent and you are going nowhereeee.
I also trudged through your monster post!
I also wanted to comment about the "In order to build a better network we need to communicate" bit. I definatly agree with your point about the pointless forwarded emails
I think the communication can be important, but often bogs down people rather than enabling them to continue with their job. Email often gets confused with comminication. I don't think email always helps build a better network. It makes people lazy and feel as though they are communicating when they put little to no effort into it.
I know I fall into the trap of checking email every few minutes. There never seems to be anything worthwhile except for maybe twice a day! Most emails are for keeping tabs on projects completed and updates on what others are doing. Mostly, I don't need to read them throughout the day.
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