Our constant engagement with technology has introduced an additional way to map social networks. Instead of relying on what you say, you can now analyze what you do. Consider the following questions: When you call your friends and leave a voicemail, which ones call you back right away and which ones seemingly take forever? Do…
Technology companies sometimes keep the beta test phase label on software for a time after the official launch to stress that the product is not finished so much as ready for the next batch of improvements. Jeff Bezos, founder/CEO of Amazon concludes every annual letter to shareholders by reminding readers, as he did in his…
In Reid’s latest LinkedIn post, he explains why relationships matter to your career. But beyond being good for your career, there is at least one other benefit: friends keep you alive. Several studies have shown that, all else equal, you have a better chance of beating a disease if you enjoy the support of friends.…
Last July, Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha announced The Start-Up of You Student Fellowship. This exclusive online network was created to recognize and connect the most entrepreneurial student leaders in the world and empower them to do more. Each of them has shown a remarkable dedication to improving themselves, their networks, and their communities. We…
As we talk about in the chapter “It Takes a Network,” a good way to strengthen your network is to make an introduction between two people who would benefit from knowing each other. When you introduce two people, you’re in a unique situation: 1. You’re at an informational advantage: You know both parties, and usually…
In The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor, he writes about a question the psychologist Carol Dweck asks her students: When you think of Thomas Edison, she asks them, what do you see? “He’s standing in a white coat in a lab-type room,” comes the average reply. “He’s leaning over a light bulb. Suddenly, it works!”…
Awesome career opportunities are not always so obviously awesome. Nassim Taleb made this point in The Black Swan: Many people do not realize they are getting a lucky break in life when they get it. If a big publisher (or a big art dealer or a movie executive or a hotshot banker or a big…
Reid was recently interviewed by Keith Ferrazzi, author of two notable books on relationships, Never Eat Alone and Who’s Got Your Back? Keith asked Reid about pivoting as the entrepreneur of your own career: “What do you think is more difficult in the pivoting process: Changing the nature of who you are, whether it’s a…
In 1985, when Howard Schultz (current CEO of Starbucks) was preparing to launch coffee bars in America modeled after those already in Italy, he and his partners didn’t just launch the stores on a whim. They first did everything in their power to understand the dynamics of the market they were entering. They visited five…
Building a genuine relationship with another person depends on seeing the world from another person’s perspective. In relationships it’s only when you put yourself in the other person’s shoes that you begin to develop an honest connection. Discovering what people want, in the words of start-up investor Paul Graham, “deals with the most difficult problem…