The size of your business network isn’t going to help you if you aren’t using it well.

“Traditionally, self-help books on networks focus on going out and building big mammoth rolodexes…What we’ve found is that this isn’t what high-performers do. What seems to distinguish the top 20% of performers across a wide-range of organizations is not so much a big network. In fact, there is usually a negative statistically significant likelihood of being a top performer and knowing a lot of people.” Robert Cross, network scientist, University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce

  1. Recognize and Nurture your Clusters: Your network is a set of clusters, not one big one.
  2. Become the information broker between your clusters: Brokering info between networks is game-changing
  3. Be flexible and willing to be uncomfortable: Brokerage is more than a tactic; it’s a way of life

Read the full article at Forbes.