Connection

The great library of Alexandria was, rightly, considered to be one of the eight wonders of the ancient world. Part of a greater institution called Musaeaum (which lent its name to our modern day museums) its role was to collect and curate knowledge and make it available to the world of its time.

Having a repository of knowledge is critical to learning, development and progress. But what really makes learning, development and progress possible in the first instance isn’t the collection of knowledge in itself, but its use. Being able to learn from the past, being able to repurpose lessons learnt and adapt them to the present and being able to reuse what already exists in a new context is what actually makes us capable of learning, developing and progressing.

What is true for a society is true for a business. Within our head what really makes us smart are connections that are lean, efficient and strong. The same is true for an economy in what is known as “the Network Effect”. In short, connections that can quickly increase the value of a thought, a memory, an idea, some information, a product or a service, generate greater value in return.

This is a no-brainer. In chapter five of “Intentional” I reduced the “equation of success” to a single line that showed that as long an activity, in any context, delivered back greater value or reward than it took to initiate it success was guaranteed. ??

This hasn’t changed. Just as intelligence in any context (personal, societal or business) requires the network effect, success has to balance the connections we make and the purpose we put them to, to be subject to a cost/benefits equation that delivers back more than it costs us to implement it.

Is Your Business Efficiently Networked?

Bringing this high-flying abstract reasoning down to street level means that whatever you do to promote your business: advertise, use social media platforms, create content and use promotions; if it cannot be amplified by the actions of others that are not in your payroll it will be a constant drain on your resources that, over time, will only increase your convert-acquisition cost.

Within the corporate world all this comes down to the known mantra of paid, earned and owned content. Within the business itself however what is key is that there is a network effect, where one part of the business talks to the other parts and, within that, the connections are optimized for efficiency so that the signal-to-noise ratio works in your favor.

To help you do that best consider the approach of the 3Ws: Who, knows What, When.

Solve this so that the information that’s needed arrives in time and you’re well on your way to creating a business that is agile, responsive and adaptable.?