Network

Thinking
10/30/15

Benjamin Cave
Trainer

@cave_ben

Aim
To enable participants to apply network thinking
to their work

Learning Objectives
Define 5 principles of network thinking
Apply network thinking to professional
challenges
List support structures for a network

Exercise
Think of an example of knowledge
organised in a tree structure
What is the benefit of the tree
structure?

Benefits of trees

Orderly
Hierarchical
Simple
Unified
Structured
Intuitive

Hierarchies
Business
Family
Military
Governmental

Discussion

Could you make a tree of your

friendship group?

How can
equal
things be
expresse
d in
trees?

Structures

A football team

A business

A friendship
group

Tree thinking cannot be used to

organise networks

you need a new

Giles
Deleuze

Felix
Guattari

Rhizomes
Unlike trees or their roots, the rhizome
connects any point to any other point

Image 1 credit: Library of

Congress

Principles of
Networks
Networks are not linear.
Networks have no origin point.
Networks cannot be controlled from the
top.

Networks
and Jobs
40% found job through social
network referrals
63% of recruiters take
referrals as #1 indicator of
candidate quality
35% change jobs at least
every 5 years

Image 1 credit: WeRS

Principles of Network
Thinking
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Emergence over prediction

Adaptability over control
Redundancy over stardom
Contributions over credentials
Diversity over homogeny
Adapted from the
Curtis Ogden from the

Interaction Institute f

Meet Suhail and Mustafa

Your job: Help them win more

business through network
thinking

Emergence
Network thinkers understand the limits of
prediction and reduce reliance on
projections
To do this they increase the diversity of
data and information they have available to
them
Example: A business adjusts the focus of an
event to match the latest developments in
the field

Our colleagues are seeking to

grow their business in a new
specialist area

How can they apply

emergence to develop their
expertise?

Adaptability
Network thinkers prioritise flexibility over
rigid delivery
To do this they focus on the outcome not the
process
Example: A business brings in a colleague to
support delivery of a project in another
language

Suhail is bidding for a new contract

How can they apply

adaptability to support his
bid?

Redundancy
Network thinkers reduce reliance on any
one part of their network
To do this they identify and cultivate
alternative relationships and switching
with agility when needed
Example: A business keeps a list of skills
in their network in case they cannot meet
a need internally

Our colleagues have won their

contract! Now they needs to
resource the work

How can they apply

redundancy to plan for
contingencies?

Contribution
Network thinkers look at the best person
for a job not whether that person has a
track record
To do this they constantly keep track of the
skills in their network and apply new
knowledge to each situation
Example: A business uses a trainer to
promote their work in a specialist area

Our colleagues are running a

workshop for government officials

How
can
they
apply
contribution to decide who
should run it?

Diversity
Network thinkers embrace different
perspectives
To do this they work on new projects and
bring in new partners to support delivery
Example: A business partners with a
freelance developer to deliver a project in
a new technical area.

Mustafa has been approached to

build an open data app

How can they apply diversity

to locate technical partners?

Network Thinking for

Nodes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Emergence - Keep up with others work

Adaptability Be flexible in your plans
Redundancy Line up support from the network
Contributions Give new people a chance
Diversity Think about partnerships

Exercise

Move around the room and find

out the specialism of 3 other
participants

Network thinking gives you the

resources of a larger organisation
while minimising your operational

Thank You

10/30/15

Benjamin Cave
Trainer

@cave_ben