The Organizational Network Fieldbook: Best Practices, Techniques, and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance

18.4. Practice 3. Speed Networking

This exercise creates an immediate appreciation among participants of the power of networks by demonstrating that any group contains the potential for meaningful and useful connections—as long as those connections are based on a clear need and purpose. This exercise takes 45 to 60 minutes to complete.

18.4.1. Key Learning Points

• Mindset shift. Although the potential for a network exists in any group, effective networks are not the result of the random social connections of the kind made at a cocktail party or on a social networking site. Effective networks are established when people actively seek specific solutions to their problems.

• Skill set built. The ability to quickly establish meaningful, useful issue-related ...