Page 198 - The Power to Change Anything

Find Strength in Numbers 187

as the primary asset for changing people’s behavior—and lives.
Now, if a philanthropist left a billion dollars to Delancey so that
the institution could afford to hire professional teachers, coun-
selors, and coaches, do you think Dr. Silbert would allow it?
Of course not. By helping others, residents help themselves
even more. Teachers learn more than students, mentors more
than mentees, and trainers more trainees, so why restrict all this
important learning to outside professionals who have already
been to school?
At the business level, more than one organization is begin-
ning to understand how to reduce risk by making better use of
social capital. For example, venture capitalists in Silicon Valley
create “business incubators” as a way of helping new businesses
survive the risky start-up phase. These are a system through
which specialists of all types freely offer expertise to companies
when it’s most needed.
From a personal career standpoint, the need to build social
capital by connecting with others has never been greater. Tom
Boyle of British Telecom coined the expression NQ, or network
quotient, to highlight the importance of a person’s ability to
form connections with others. He argues that from a career
standpoint a person’s NQ is now more important than his or
her IQ. Since you can’t know everything, it’s essential that you
find people who can make up for your blind spots. A whole host
of recent studies reveals that today’s most successful employ-
ees have networks of people they can go to for expertise, as well
as networks of people they can trust with sensitive requests.
Successful people not only refuse to see themselves as islands,
but they carefully reduce their personal vulnerability by ensur-
ing that they’re valued members of hyperconnected networks.
All these examples deal with the same problem. Chang-
ing, complex, turbulent, and risky times require multiple heads
to come up with creative solutions that no one person could
ever invent. So take your lead from Dr. Yunus. When problems
call for creativity and multiple views, place people in teams. To