From our current issue of HR News and Views:

It seems that the old adage, “It is not what you know but whom you know” is being proven true through mathematical models now. To modify that a little bit, what you know will give you the starting point and who you know will enable you to be truly successful. Your ability to leverage on your social networks decides whether you would make it to the upper echelons in your career.

The reason why organizations are paying attention to “Social Networks” is because flatter organizations and cross functional / geographical collaboration has resulted in people increasingly relying on personal networks to collaborate and to get work done effectively.

From an organization point of view, if the premise, “everybody is interdependent” holds true then it becomes important to recognize the network patterns that high performers leverage on to succeed. Technology has enabled Social Network researchers to measure and study how their success can be duplicated by others.

So what exactly is Organizational Network Analysis?

To read the entire article, go here

From our current issue of HR News and Views:

It is based on Paul Dolan’s book “True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution” and my conversation with Paul Dolan. The book is about his incredible journey which reaffirms the highest values that all sustainable businesses can and should embody.

Paul Dolan’s journey of change and transformation begins when he felt the impact of chemicals on the environment in general and on the grapes in particular, first hand at the Fetzer Vineyards in 1987. Paul Dolan, then the head wine maker recalls the difference in tastes between two blocks of vines a few feet apart. One “infused with lush, creamy flavours of ripe figs and melon, perfect for Sauvignon Blanc” and the other “less flavourful and less expressive”. The first block of vines was a part of an experiment to farm some of the vineyards organically.

The book offers the guiding principles and his personal story of how he and his team built Fetzer Vineyards as one of the largest brands in the United States in the premium wines category, making nearly four million cases of wine each year. They farm organically all the vineyards they own. They have increased earnings on an average 15% each year through the 1990’s while keeping their environmental and social responsibilities as top priorities.

One of the guiding principles in creating the future you want is

To continue from the previous post:

A list of moderate to extensively used Leader Development programmes in the order of ranking (Page 17)

Tests, assessments, or other measures of skills

Another interesting finding was ?Formal training is the most common leader development practice, but special projects or assignments are the most effective. ( Page 18 )

A finding that I find difficult to accept is ?Internet and other online sources? ranked the lowest amongst the different sources of learning for leaders.

The top six sources of learning for Leaders according to the study are:

Internet and online resources just got 14%! This is surely too low in this age of the “google, wikipedia,webminars, blogs, online access to the various magazines and newspapers. Tons and tons of resources out there to be grabbed. Free or otherwise!

Development Dimensions International, Inc. (DDI) has recently published a 56 page report titled the ?Best Practices for Tomorrow?s Global Leaders?. The study includes responses from 4,559 leaders and 944 HR representatives from 42 countries.

Some aspects of the study that made an interesting read:

What is the most respected Leadership behaviour?

Leaders think ?ability to bring in the numbers? is the most respected leadership behaviour. (Page 10)

The following is the ranking of which Leadership action gets the most respect.

And here is why HR thinks internally sourced leaders fail (Page 11):

About one-third of internally sourced leaders fail, usually because of poor people skills or interpersonal skills.

• Deepa