Keys to Understanding Your Social Capital

Abstract

In an interview, Brian Uzzi, Co-Director at NICO, talked about the proper building of social networks. When you think about relationships with the people you know and how those people know each other, Uzzi suggests you focus on three essential things. First is the kind of information you get from those people. The second is the kind of skill sets those people have that you don't possess and would probably have to make a large investment to acquire. Third is your informal power as a leader. While you examine your network and contacts you need to remember that the big issue is trust. There are basically three principles for building a network. First is self-similarity; people tend to choose people a lot like them selves. Second is proximity; they tend to choose people who just happen to be around them. Third is the shared activity principle.