Monthly Archives: December 2006

Introduction to Social Network Methods

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I’m fascinated by social network theory. It’s fun to map the relationships of individual actors within a broader social web.

While most of us may think of network theory in the context of internet social networks and our own relationship-building efforts (weak ties vs. strong ties, etc), I fondly recall a moment in my high school psychology class where I insanely suggested we map out the cliques in the senior class. A couple minutes later the black girl in the class (who volunteered information about the "minority group") was going at it with the "beautiful blond," one other girl was close to tears, the jocks were all laughing, and soon enough the teacher ended the ill-fated exercise. Ah, high school, our first exposure to social networks, connectors, and orphans.

Anyway, if you want to get an academic introduction to social network theory, check out this free online textbook by a UC Riverside professor. I recommend reading the first chapter to get an overview of how the field operates.

(Hat tip: del.icio.us/chrisyeh)

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Common Goals Bring Together Uncommon People

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That was what my old teacher John Durand told me once while we were hiking through Yosemite National Park.

It crystallizes why management / leadership is so interesting: how do you bring together a bunch of different people and unite them around common objectives?

But life’s most beautiful moments don’t always happen in formal business. Yesterday, for example, I decended on In-n-Out Burger in Daly City, a town just south of San Francisco. I can safely say I haven’t been in a place as diverse since London’s Heathrow Airport (which is probably the most diverse location in the world).

In-n-Out was filled with old grandmas and babies, black skin and white skin (and everything in-between), tall and short, grotesquely obese and anorexic. English was just one of several languages being spoken. Rich businessmen waited in the ketchup line behind gangstas.

The common goal for all these people was the perfect burger (preferably “animal style,” with fries and a vanilla milkshake on the side). So long as you kept this in mind, you couldn’t care less what the person next to you looked like.

I think back to this idea anytime I’m trying to lead people who seem close to sparring. Articulate the common goals, and people tend to rally together. Sometimes it can be as simple as, “Look, we’re all trying to get out of here as quickly as possible, so let’s work together.” Or: “Let’s not forget our interests are fundamentally aligned. You win, I win, you lose, I lose.”

Good leaders, it seems to me, assemble a stunningly diverse team, and then work hard to promote commonalities.

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Book Review: Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis

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Founding Brothers, the Pulitzer-Prize winning account of the key figures of the American revolutionary period, is a magical book, and highly recommended.

Start-up entrepreneurs who are queasy about picking up a book on U.S. history might consider this: America is the world’s most successful start-up. It took a stellar management team with a compelling vision to turn an idea into a start-up into a large organization which has become the most powerful in the world.

Ellis illuminates the personalities of the great men — Washington, Jefferson, Adams, etc. It boggles the mind to think that so many extraordinary minds were together at the same time. I feel like I know each of them a little. I’ll have to check out the full biographies to get an even deeper sense of their minds and hearts.

Although Ellis was dealing with some of the most gifted rhetoricians of history, his own writing contains gems, too. It was fun to read: "Washington wanted to carve out a middle course, and do so in a moderate tone, that together pushed his most ardent critics to the fringes of the ongoing debate, where their shrill accusations, loaded language, and throbbing moral certainty could languish in the obscurity they deserved."

More compelling and beautiful than a textbook but easier to manage than strict biographies or insanely long year-by-year accounts, Founding Brothers is an awesome choice for someone wanting to dip their toes in this chapter of history.

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Movie Short: Little Miss Sunshine

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Little Miss Sunshine is one of the best movies I’ve seen. It’s hilarious on so many levels. Treat yourself and watch it, especially if you’re living with your family (or are trying to start one). Five stars, five stars, five stars. Merry Christmas!

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How Do You Develop Self-Confidence?

Posted inEntrepreneurship7 Comments on How Do You Develop Self-Confidence?

In April I said, "The single biggest divider between the good and the great is self-confidence."

I saw my friend Rahim Fazal today (a really impressive person!), and we got on the topic of self-confidence. I raised the question: How do you develop self-confidence? Here’s what we brainstormed:

  • Celebrate small wins. Life is a series of small steps. Each step you take which brings you closer to your goal is worth a pat on the back — even if you don’t make it to the end.
  • Talk to people. Seek out advice and help from positive people. In addition to simple encouragement, when you have a "personal board of advisors," some of the impact of a failure can be absorbed by them.
  • You be the carrot and the stick. Try not to rely on others for approval or motivation.
  • Perspective. This is most important. Gaining perspective on the course of events is mighty difficult. All the more so for young people, since we rarely "look back" (and have little to look back on!). In general, I think our greatest successes and our greatest failures are often not as important as we think.

What else?

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