networks have deep rules

of operation which are

independent of what they
actually do

mick yates page 1

2007
hierarch
ies

markets
and
hierarchie page 2
 random “scale free”
network network

page 3
weak
links

page 4
 random “small world”
network network

page 5
networks we belong to

• work – daily exchange

• social – “check in,”
inside and outside the
office
an important indicator of
the trust in your
network

• innovation –
collaboration
• expert advice –
problem solving
Karen Stephenson
• career guidance –
advice
• learning – self page 6
 hubs & affiliation
authorities clusters

page 7
talent network
design …

scale free - hubs and authorities

structure to help “the rich get
richer”

small worlds - “weak” links to

help the search for ideas

affiliation clusters – to help

emergence of belonging, trust
and self development
page 8
the blindingly
obvious …
1. Purpose

effective Networks have a

clear business /
organizational purpose
which must be pre-defined
outputs must be both useful
and measurable

page 9
A Community of Practice is not a
club - it has identity defined by a
shared domain of interest and a shared
competence
Members engage in joint activities
and share information; relationships
emerge to enable learning and creation
of new knowledge
Members are practitioners - they
develop a shared repertoire of
resources, experiences, tools, and
ways of addressing problems after Etienne
Wenger
page 10
page 11
talent implications
…
• create shared vision and
purpose
• build distributed leadership
rather than direct and goal
set
• focus on knowledge creation
not just knowledge
distribution
page 12
the supposedly easy
bit …
2. Member identity

skills, knowledge, motivations,

problems, geography, time
linkages, goals and beliefs
demands data based
understanding and
communication …
… and identification of
“structural holes” page 13
 •searchable
•customizable
– applications
– groups
•facts and
context
•real time page 14
talent implications
…
• create context as well as
data sharing
• make sure everyone knows
why they are in the network
…
• simplicity and transparency
• set the system rules, make
them clear, and then watchpage 15
the sanity check …

3. Actionability

something new and

innovative actually happens
as a result of the Network’s
existence …
… a corollary is that links in the
Network must have practical
value in real interactions
page 16
page 17
talent implications
…
• what do you want to happen?
• what is “core” – everyone
must know
• what is “up for grabs” – they
invent
• each part of the network
reinforces all the other parts
page 18
a really tricky bit …

4. Searchability
to answer real world questions

informational … best Thai

restaurants?
intellectual … learn from
research?
actionable … better sales
results?
relational … team works
better?
judgmental … decide right page 19
page 20
talent implications
…
• purpose driven systems
• mix of tacit and implicit
knowledge
• seed points - hubs and
authorities
• trajectory of search is the key
• employees take
responsibility page 21
the key to the whole
thing …
5. Network
trustworthiness

depends on
- identity of members, hubs &
authorities
- actionability of their links
- conversations in affiliation
clusters page 22
page 23
talent implications
…
• participation – face to face
helps
• connect existing systems
• performance management,
knowledge sharing, goal setting
etc
• encourage “trust but verify”
• weak links which “work”
become strong page 24
making talent networks
work …
1. Purpose
2. Member identity
3. Actionability
4. Searchability
5. Network
trustworthiness
page 25