SOCIAL CHEMISTRY

A close look at the various structures of social networks.

King, a professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management, has spent some 15 years studying social relationships among a variety of networks. In a psychobabble-free manner, she presents the findings of numerous researchers in the field, and, using simple diagrams, she maps the structure of three common types of personal networks. She categorizes their organizers as Expansionists, Brokers, and Conveners, and anecdotes about well-known figures illustrate the basic elements of each network’s social structure and psychological differences. Expansionists have huge but relatively weak networks, spend time meeting lots of new people, and know how to work a room. A good example is Jim Cramer, the loud host of Mad Money, whom the author describes as “the epitome of brash overconfidence.” Networks organized by Brokers have a very different style, embodied here by cellist Yo-Yo Ma, whose musical collective Silk Road Ensemble is a network of talented people from very different social worlds. Conveners build dense networks with deep roots in which their friends are also each other’s friends. King’s choice to illustrate this is Vogue editor Anna Wintour, queen of the fashion industry. Celebrities abound in these pages, but the author takes care to clarify the benefits and drawbacks of each style and emphasizes that for any individual, the most appropriate style is one that matches their personal goals, career stage, and needs. Throughout, she blends the findings of numerous sociological and psychological research studies with thoughtful advice and relevant stories from her own life, which gives the book a comfortable balance and adds to its readability. Rather than providing quick tips on how to build a network, King gives readers the big picture, showing what social networks are and demonstrating their importance in one’s career and personal life.

A personable approach to one of the hot topics of our times.