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

The Organizational Network Fieldbook "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:
Acknowledgment xi The Contributors xiii Introduction xxi PART ONE BUILDING NETWORKS FOR COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY 1 1. Building a Technical Community, Angelique Finan and Grady Bryant 3 2. Networks of Excellence, Peter Gray and Dan Ranta 11 3. Driving Business Results Through Networked Communities of Practice, Rob Cross and Guillermo Velasquez 22 4. Mapping and Engaging Influence Networks, Myra Norton 44 PART TWO BRIDGING ORGANIZATIONAL SILOS 57 5. Network Analysis for Engineering Small Practice Groups, Barry Dayton 59 6. Building Trusted Ties in a New Organization, Joe Blasnales 72 7. Forging Global Connections, Christie Dowling, Betsy Smith Redfern, and Victor Gulas 89 8. Building Healthy Teams, Kate Ehrlich, Ivan J. Blum, and Inga Carboni 107 PART THREE DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE THROUGH NETWORKS 123 9. Changing Culture Through Networks and Narrative, Steve Denning and Rob Cross 125 10. Message Monitoring to Accelerate Change, Terry G. Williams 139 11. A Workshop for Aligning Networks with Strategy, Sally Colella 149 12. Positioning a New Leader for Success Through Network Fine-Tuning, Rob Cross, Robert J. Thomas, Ana Dutra, and Carrie Newberry 157 13. Improving Decision Making Through Network Reconstruction, Rob Cross and Robert J. Thomas 171 PART FOUR CONNECTING PEOPLE FOR INNOVATION 183 14. The Innovation Lab: Building Idea-Sharing Networks, Jean Singer and Kristi Droppers 185 15. Building a Collaborative Innovation Network, Wendi Backler 203 16. Connecting Through Improvisation, Christiane Frischmuth 218 17. Helping Leaders Uncover Hidden Assets, Sally Colella 233 PART FIVE DEVELOPING TALENT THROUGH NETWORKS 243 18. Embedding a Network Perspective into Leadership, Michael Chavez and Mara Green 245 19. Improving Leadership Effectiveness Through Personal Network Analysis and Development, Rob Cross 264 20. Developing Leaders’ Networks Through a Stakeholder Mapping and Engagement Workshop, Katy Strei and Sally Colella 282 21. The Mentor Marketplace, Christie Dowling and Victor Gulas 291 22. Managing External Stakeholders and Stemming Knowledge Loss, Carlota Vollhardt and Brigitte Lippmann 304 23. Smart Mentoring to Increase Connectivity, Adrian (Zeke) Wolfberg 315 24. Newcomers’ Boot Camp, Betsy Hudson 321 25. A Network Approach to Onboarding, Michel Buffet, Gregory A. Janicik, Maria Gallegos, Giulio Quaggiotto, and Lauren Ashwell 326 Index 347

About the Author :
Rob Cross is an associate professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, where he specializes in organizational behavior. Professor Cross directs research into social network analysis for The Network Roundtable, a consortium of 100 organizations. Jean Singer is an organizational consultant specializing in the use of social network principles and techniques to drive performance. Sally Colella works with leaders and teams to create and leverage networks that support learning, results, and satisfaction. Robert J. Thomas is the executive director of Accenture's Institute for High Performance and a professor at the Brandeis University International Business School. Yaarit Silverstone is the managing director responsible for organization effectiveness offerings and capabilities within Accenture's Talent and Organization Performance practice.