Social Capital

From Jean Chatzky’s book THE DIFFERENCE –

“Ever heard of “social capital”? This is the currency of connections. Social capital is the asset that is created when relationships between people change in ways that lead to action, generally for the good.”  ………………

“Like stocks, real estate, or other assets, social capital has value—sometimes huge value.”

“Surprisingly, weak ties in the workforce can be more valuable than strong ones.”

“A weak tie is formed when you are both connected to a third person—a friend of a friend—or connected to a common network, such as an alumni association. You have less frequent contact with this person, or those contacts are more superficial in nature, yet these weak

ties have been shown to be the most important source of information on jobs. And they can help in boosting your salary, getting you a promotion, increasing your career satisfaction, and gaining access to information. The more of these weak ties you have, the better. So invest in

casting a wide, but careful, net.”  (A great book, I would highly recommend it if you are looking to make a financial difference in your life.)

I must say that I am one of these people that have a lot of weak ties (as Jean Chatzky call them) everywhere.  I try and know everyone I can atleast to some degree.  I have established these ties from my many jobs, my girl’s school and sport functions, volunteering with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life and Girl Scouts.  I attend as many networking events (especially women based ones) and classes as possible. 

Recently, I have witnessed the advantages of my weak ties.  A few weeks ago while talking to our computer repair guy at work I happened to mention that I do QuickBooks and bookkeeping work as a part time thing on my own.  He didn’t end up coming in to work on our computers but he asked me to send him some of my business cards and so I did.  I got my first phone call from one of my business cards that he passed out. 

I am also looking into my options for alternative housing arrangements.  A customer of mine at my full time job that I happened to have also done some QuickBooks setup work for also happens to be good friends with my truck driver at my full time job.  Through conversation with my truck driver about looking for a house to rent, he knew that I was looking and while seeing them over the weekend they happened to mention renting out their house.  Of course my truck driver told them he thought that I was looking for a place.  Through all of our connections they are well aware of whom I am and they expressed some interest if their plans to move go through.

I guess what I am getting at is that you never know when someone you know in a casual nature may become a valuable contact in your career or otherwise.  As Jean Chatzky says, “The more weak ties you have, the better,”  So build up your “Social Capital” and watch for the opportunities to arise.