HBR Guides to Emotional Intelligence at Work Collection (5 Books) (HBR Guide Series)

A Smarter Way to Network

A summary of the full-length HBR article by Rob Cross and Robert Thomas, highlighting key ideas.

THE IDEA IN BRIEF

To maximize your and your team’s performance, you need resources, information, and expertise from people across your organization. They don’t report to you, but they can make—or break—your project.

So you must influence them. How? Build a better network, using these steps:

1. Analyze: Identify the benefits each of your existing network connections now provides. Does one person give you valuable information? Does another have expertise you need but lack?
2. De-layer: Weed out connections that aren’t helping you, such as people who burn too much of your time.
3. Diversify: Fill the fresh openings in your network with ...