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

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

by Rob Cross, Jean Singer, Sally Colella, Robert J. Thomas, Yaarit Silverstone
Released July 2007
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780470542200

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Book description

This is the ultimate resource for practitioners who want to implement insights from organizational network analysis and thinking. Dozens of concrete examples, interventions, and practical advice from network experts show you what you can do to strengthen networks and boost performance. This book is essential for anyone in business, government, or consulting who wants to get network thinking from analysis to action in organizations."—Wayne Baker, professor of management and organizations, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

What a great idea this book is! The Organizational Network Fieldbook will demand to be read by anyone undertaking any social network efforts in their organization. It is not only a unique book, but it is also very well thought-out, finely written, and exceptionally pragmatic. It's a great achievement for the authors and a great boon to all practitioners."—Larry Prusak, researcher and consultant, and the founder and former director of the Institute for Knowledge Management

In this practical companion to the best-selling Driving Results Through Social Networks, the authors draw on their network-building activities in organizations such as ConocoPhillips, 3M, and the United States Department of Defense in order to provide a compilation of highly practical approaches to help leaders shift their focus from formal organizational structures to a better understanding of flexible networks.

Table of contents

  1. Copyright
  2. Dedication
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
  4. THE CONTRIBUTORS
  5. INTRODUCTION
  6. BUILDING NETWORKS FOR COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY
    1. BUILDING A TECHNICAL COMMUNITY
      1. VeriSign's Goals for a Technical Community
      2. Strategy and Approach
      3. Enhancing and Expanding the Community
    2. NETWORKS OF EXCELLENCE
      1. Excellence Networks at ConocoPhillips
      2. Network Formation
      3. Network Roles and Responsibilities
      4. Knowledge-Sharing Culture
      5. Day-to-Day Network Operation
      6. An Underlying Urgency
    3. DRIVING BUSINESS RESULTS THROUGH NETWORKED COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
      1. Organizational Network Analysis and CoPs at Halliburton
      2. Five Added-Value Propositions of Network Analysis
      3. Endnote
    4. MAPPING AND ENGAGING INFLUENCE NETWORKS
      1. An Influence Network Analysis at TechFirm
      2. Step 1: Identify Opportunities
      3. Step 2: Build Partnerships
      4. Step 3: Facilitate Connections
      5. Step 4: Sustain Relationships
  7. BRIDGING ORGANIZATIONAL SILOS
    1. NETWORK ANALYSIS FOR ENGINEERING SMALL PRACTICE GROUPS
      1. Small Practice Groups for a 3M Division
      2. A Four-Step Process Toward Small Practice Groups
      3. Results at 3M's Really Big Division
    2. BUILDING TRUSTED TIES IN A NEW ORGANIZATION
      1. An Approach Informed by Organizational Network Analysis (ONA)
      2. Conducting the ONA
      3. Reviewing the Results with the Department
      4. The Workshop
      5. The Projects
      6. Results in Progress
      7. Endnotes
    3. FORGING GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
      1. The Challenge of IT Reorganization
      2. Team Building
      3. Virtual Leadership Training
      4. Cross-Functional Team Design
      5. Results of these Efforts
    4. BUILDING HEALTHY TEAMS
      1. Building Teams at Knox
      2. The Six Exercises
      3. Evaluation
      4. References
      5. Endnotes
  8. DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH NETWORKS
    1. CHANGING CULTURE THROUGH NETWORKS AND NARRATIVE
      1. Identifying Change Agents
      2. Driving Change with Business Narrative
      3. Network Analysis and Business Narrative Change Program
      4. Where to Start
    2. MESSAGE MONITORING TO ACCELERATE CHANGE
      1. Background to the Cleveland Clinic and to Resurrection Health Care
      2. Where Message Monitoring May Be Useful
      3. The Message Monitoring Process
      4. Additional Lessons for Large Transformational Efforts
      5. Outcomes at the Cleveland Clinic and Resurrection Health
    3. A WORKSHOP FOR ALIGNING NETWORKS WITH STRATEGY
      1. Workshop Overview
      2. Preparation
      3. Part 1: Strategy Discussion
      4. Part 2: Network Perspective and Action Planning
      5. Next Steps
    4. POSITIONING A NEW LEADER FOR SUCCESS THROUGH NETWORK FINE-TUNING
      1. Four Challenging Objectives
      2. Objective 1: Improve Overall Collaboration
      3. Objective 2: Drive Revenue Growth Through Improved Connectivity
      4. Objective 3: Drive Service Innovation and Cross-Selling
      5. Objective 4: Improve Talent Management
      6. Reaping the Rewards
    5. IMPROVING DECISION MAKING THROUGH NETWORK RECONSTRUCTION
      1. Diagnosing the Problem
      2. Examining Organizational Networks
      3. Quantifying the Costs of Inefficient Decision Making
      4. Designing and Executing Interventions
      5. Reaping Rewards
  9. CONNECTING PEOPLE FOR INNOVATION
    1. THE INNOVATION LAB: BUILDING IDEA-SHARING NETWORKS
      1. Innovation Lab Overview
      2. Workshop I: Building Blocks of Innovation
      3. Workshop II: External Connectivity
      4. Workshop III: Internal Connectivity
      5. Workshop IV: Converting Ideas to Products and Practices
      6. Workshop V: Diffusion of the Innovation Process
      7. The Exercises
      8. References
    2. BUILDING A COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION NETWORK
      1. The Myelin Repair Foundation
      2. Laying the Basis of a Collaborative Innovation Network
      3. Extending the Network
      4. How Has the MRF's Model Performed?
      5. Lessons for Other Organizations
      6. Endnotes
    3. CONNECTING THROUGH IMPROVISATION
      1. Getting Started
      2. The Plan of Exercises
      3. Warming Up and Generating Group Energy
      4. Moving Toward and Moving Away From
      5. Building Synergy
      6. Relationships Within Hierarchy
      7. Endnote
    4. HELPING LEADERS UNCOVER HIDDEN ASSETS
      1. A Hidden Assets Program
      2. Hidden Assets Activity
      3. The Activity in Other Settings
      4. References
  10. DEVELOPING TALENT THROUGH NETWORKS
    1. EMBEDDING A NETWORK PERSPECTIVE INTO LEADERSHIP
      1. Leadership Challenges and the Place of Networking
      2. Practice 1. Authenticity as the Leader's Lever for Building Effective Networks
      3. Practice 2. Network Mapping and Stakeholder Analysis
      4. Practice 3. Speed Networking
      5. Endnotes
    2. IMPROVING LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS THROUGH PERSONAL NETWORK ANALYSIS AND DEVELOPMENT
      1. A Workshop on Networks
      2. Session 1: Promoting Leaders' Effectiveness Through Full Group Networks
      3. Session 2: Promoting Effectiveness Through Personal Networks
      4. Endnotes
    3. DEVELOPING LEADERS' NETWORKS THROUGH A STAKEHOLDER MAPPING AND ENGAGEMENT WORKSHOP
      1. Devising the Workshop
      2. Overview of the Workshop
      3. Workshop Preparation
      4. The Session
    4. THE MENTOR MARKETPLACE
      1. The Basic Challenges
      2. What Is a Mentor?
      3. How Does the Mentor Marketplace Work?
      4. Connections to Other Mentoring Initiatives
      5. Results
      6. Implementation Challenges
      7. Value for Other Organizations
    5. MANAGING EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS AND STEMMING KNOWLEDGE LOSS
      1. The Challenges at a Pharmaceutical Company
      2. The Network Analysis Project
      3. Implementation
      4. Epilogue
      5. Key Insights
      6. Endnote
    6. SMART MENTORING TO INCREASE CONNECTIVITY
      1. The Knowledge Lab Network
      2. Launching the Mentoring Program
      3. Results
    7. NEWCOMERS' BOOT CAMP
      1. An Onboarding Challenge
      2. Developing a Boot Camp
      3. The Current Camp
      4. Results
    8. A NETWORK APPROACH TO ONBOARDING
      1. Example 1: Onboarding a New Controller at a Biotech Company
      2. Example 2: Understanding Senior Executive Dynamics at an Architecture Firm
      3. Example 3: Rethinking Onboarding at IFC
      4. Example 4: Uncovering Organizational Norms
      5. References
      6. Endnote
  11. Index

Product information

  • Title: The Organizational Network Fieldbook: Best Practices, Techniques, and Exercises to Drive Organizational Innovation and Performance
  • Author(s): Rob Cross, Jean Singer, Sally Colella, Robert J. Thomas, Yaarit Silverstone
  • Release date: July 2007
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9780470542200