Why a Networking Culture Is Important
The reason for creating a networking culture is obvious once you look at the current and future direction of innovation. Let’s start by disposing of the myth of the lone genius — the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells of yesteryear — arriving at a breakthrough innovation on his/her own.
This model wasn’t true then, and even if it were, it simply does not hold true in today’s complex business organizations. Technology and the challenges that must be solved have become so complex that many — perhaps even most — companies can no longer rely solely on their own internal innovation geniuses, no matter how brilliant those people may be.
Innovation is increasingly about having groups of people come together to leverage their diverse talents and expertise to solve multi-faceted challenges that cross multiple disciplines. To make this happen within your organization — and beyond as you move toward open innovation — requires a networking culture that is designed, supported, and modeled by your company’s leaders.
Even organizations that are not ready to fully embrace open innovation are finding that employees ’ mindsets about networking must be stretched as more companies deploy internal R & D functions outside the corporate headquarters and around the world.
Employees start to wonder who should do innovation and where it should take place. Although this is positive, success in such situations depends heavily on the ability of the employees to initiate, solidify, and leverage external relationships.
Another key motivation for setting up networking initiatives is based on the simple fact that the knowledge of any company is inside the heads of the employees. Discovering and distributing this knowledge has always been a challenge, and now, more than ever, the ability to leverage a company’s collective knowledge and experience through virtual and face – to – face networks and communities is critical to innovation.
Furthermore, establishing the ability to bring knowledge and potential new innovation insights in from external sources demands a strong networking culture supported and modeled from the top.
In one of my next posts, I will give some advice on how to create a networking culture.
Hi Stefan – couldn't agree more!
That's why here at Manchester: Knowledge Capital we place purposeful networking at the heart of our Innovation Manchester programme.
Innovation Manchester provides stimulation and thought leadership to address a triple bottom line:
1) Business: we inspire businesses and organisations to become more innovative, and support them to evangelise innovation in their own networks;
2) Sectors: we have brought leaders (business, academia, government) together in thematic / sectoral groups, to identify structural challenges and find innovative solutions
3) Place: Through cross sectoral networks (online and face to face) we identify the big issues facing our City Region (economic, social & environmental) and facilitate the generation of solutions. Ideally these solutions will provide new business opportunities for our network.
Over the past 12 months, this network has been significantly enhanced through use of social media, including twitter, wordpress and Linkedin where I manage the Innovation Manchester Network group.
See http://www.manchesterknowledge.com or our blog http://innovationmcr.wordpress.com/ for more info
Please get in touch if you would like to know more!
@coralgrainger
@innovationmcr
I fully agree with the importance of networking – it is one of the reasons we have established our own national network of KTN's as part of our innovation toolkit and developed a new portal to help bring together a national network of networks https://ktn.innovateuk.org/web/guest/home,. The KTN's now have some 60000 members.but the real benefit comes from the ideas and market opportunities generated by horizontal connections between individual networks.
Thank you for this perspective, Stefan. Too many people think that networking is a simple process of handing out their business cards. Even those who have a stronger understanding of networking and treat it as an important relationship-building activity don't see the larger purpose.
No one has created anything of value on their own. Even the "giants" stood on the shoulders of other giants.
And when networking is done on a regular basis between a core group of people, that's a mastermind group. Incredible ideas have been created by the interaction of several minds working together in a network.
Beth Bridges
The Networking Motivator ™
The myth of the lone genius is about as popular as the myth of all-knowing, all-seeing boss in complete control of his organization. Encouraging a networking culture means letting go of much of that control. Information no longer flows up and down the chain of command, but instead flows sideways, skipping across silos, and ignoring rank and title. It’s the sort of thing that makes chills run down many a manager’s spine.
The lead has to come from the top – and any attempt at open innovation is pointless without management commitment. The people in charge have to signal that talking across organizational boundaries – within and without the firm – is not only okay, but actually is encouraged.
Management needs to make clear that they are willing to accept the occasional slip up. They need to do this not just with words, but also with actions. If employees can see that they won’t be punished for mistakes, then they will take risks – and dare to innovate.
I think part of what drives networking (and innovation) is a sense of curiosity and eagerness to learn new things – and you can learn from new people and their experiences and knowledge – while there are many reasons people network, the innate curiosity is so critical and what makes it so much fun!!!