Practitioners of power networking, oftentimes fraudsters, seem to know this stuff intuitively.
For the rest of us, a bit of study-turned-into-understanding can go a long way toward making life a little easier.
From Brown University via EurekAlert, June 20:
When it comes to social influence, knowing how people are connected
matters more than simply knowing lots of people, found researchers from
Brown University’s Carney Institute for Brain Science
Climbing the social ladder isn’t simply a matter of popularity.
Rather, people in positions of influence are particularly adept at
forming “maps” of their social connections, which they navigate to
become prominent in their social network, new research shows.
It’s like having a “social superpower,” according to study author
Oriel FeldmanHall, an associate professor of cognitive and psychological
sciences at Brown University who is affiliated with the University’s Carney Institute for Brain Science.
“People vary considerably in how accurately they understand the
structure of their communities,” FeldmanHall said. “Our research
establishes for the first time that people who excel at mapping out
their social network — determining who belongs to which communities and
cliques — are the ones who will go on to become the most influential in
the social network.”
The National Science Foundation-funded study was published in Science Advances.
Contrary to popular belief, being influential isn’t determined by the
number of friends a person has, according to the research team.
“What matters are your connections to other well-connected peers,”
said study author Isabella Aslarus, who conducted the research as a
manager in FeldmanHall’s lab. “These more powerful social ties give you a
number of benefits that together add up to what we call influence.”
Those benefits can range from being perceived more positively to
influencing positive outcomes for others, according to Aslarus, who is
now a Ph.D. student in psychology at Stanford University.
“Influential individuals hold sway over others’ actions and are
better at spreading information through their networks — a power that’s
been harnessed by interventions to reduce bullying and promote public
health,” Aslarus said.
Measuring influence....
....MUCH MORE
Related:
Worthwhile for anyone who is trying to raise money for virtually any purpose.
This is a repost
that seems truer now, after the U.S. alone has spent 1/8 Trillion
dollars in cash, armaments and support, than when it was posted.
May 24, 2022 Earlier we saw what the Ukrainian President actually did: "
Fundraising Lessons From Volodymyr Zelensky: Get In Front Of The World Economic Forum.... Ask For $5 Billion.... Per Month", now the lessons that his actions illustrate.
I call it the big ask.
1)
You have to talk to the people who can make the decision, anything else
is wasting your time while your interlocutor is getting paid. This can
be more challenging than it looks.
I prefer to speak directly with
a principal but in some cases, say a family office, you want to see if
there is an agent of the principal who is trusted to both make the yes
decision and cut the check. What you don't want is to pitch the agent
who will pitch the person with the money. It doesn't work
2) You
have to talk to people who have the money you request. It seems obvious
but again it is a waste of your time to ask someone who would blanch at
$100k for $100 mil.
And more importantly, getting no's is mentally
wearing on a person, so clearing the field of as many negatives as
possible is just good psychological hygiene.
3) You have to get
the attention of your potential patron. The most efficient way is to
already know them i.e. "Hi mom". For more distant degrees of separation
(or consanguinity) the most constructive approach is to get referred in.
And the way to get referrals is to ask.
And the way to ask is both simple and straightforward: "Who do you know?"
No beating around the bush, no hemming and hawing, just "Who do you know?
And
don't allow the person you are asking to "think about it" You want
names and you want them now. And amazingly, people will either say "I
don't know anyone" or they will give you a name on the spot. And the
first couple people they come up with are apt to be both more interested
and more financially capable than the referrer is. People don't refer
down.
After you get a name or three ask if the referrer minds if
you mention who referred you (otherwise it's not a referral) Assume that
even if you are told that "I'll make introductions" that you may have
to make the initial approach on your own.
4) You have to make
you pitch interesting from the perspective of the person you are talking
to. Thus, if you've gotten yourself in front of Mrs. Bigg, of the
Philadelphia and Palm Beach Bigg's, and you want a check for something
philanthropic while warily eyeing her enormous Persian cat, mention a cat show or Catster Magazine or Cornell's Cat Watch (but maybe not the "Those Annoying Anal Glands" article, at least at first meeting)
And
how did you happen to think about cats? Because after getting the
referral you thought to check the Palm Beach Post to see if they had any
mention of the Mrs. Bigg and saw that the cat that looks like it
could eat a small child just took the Blue Ribbon at some cat show and
is probably worth a half-million bucks.
note: if rejected, resist the impulse to abscond with the cat and hold it for ransom.
5) Be aware of the difference between a one time meeting and someone you'll have a chance to grow on and charm over time.
6) Do not hustle, manipulate, or lie. That's just bad manners and possibly a felony.
7)
If your interest is in, say, honesty in media, sit down and try to
think of some billionaire or other who has a similar interest. And maybe
if they don't want to be a patron for your project (at the moment)
maybe there's a way for you to work on theirs.
Opportunity is everywhere.
That feeling when you wore your brown shoes to the formal NATO get-together....
(Image: @pedrojosecama) via WION
....and all you can do is wish Boris Johnson was back.
From The Guardian, July 12:
‘We’re not Amazon’: UK defence secretary suggests Ukraine could say thank you more...
