Find Your 15

Developing a Strategic Network by Finding Your 15

When you have a practice or a business, having the right people around you is vital. When you have the right people around you, you will have more confidence, more conviction and more connection. Not just with your team, but also with your customers.

These ‘strategic networks’ give you greater influence, of course. But they also help you with your own self-care. That’s because each person within your strategic network provides you with support and care that can get you through the rough times. 

What is a strategic network?

Researchers who performed a 10-year study found that people with a strong circle of friends were 22% less likely to die. Another study at Harvard showed that strong social ties promoted brain health. In other words, friendships can truly help you to live longer and think better.

This also applies to our strategic network. Your strategic network is your practice’s lifeline. It makes your business more sustainable, helps it have longevity and actually helps you simply ‘think’ better when making decisions.

In a lot of ways, your strategic network is like your board of directors. They are the people that have the most impact and influence on your business or practice. They create the infrastructure around you that gives you both sustainability and support, either as a leader or even a team member.

Robin Dunbar’s 15

Robin Dunbar is a social anthropologist who posited a layered approach to relationships. In fact, his theory postulated that we have 5 (deep relationships), 15 (support network), 150 (meaningful contacts). As part of this work he closely analysed tribes and leaders of tribes that were sustainable and survived the test of time.

In each case the tribal leader had about 15 tribal elders in their strategic network. These 15 elders performed the role of close friends and provided support as the leaders’ performed their duties and in their personal lives. These 15 individuals provided the infrastructure the leader needed to support the wider community as well. In essence, they acted as the leader’s strategic network.

Why do we need a strategic network?

Like these tribal leaders, each of us needs to find our own 15 people to form our strategic network. Without a strategic network around us it’s easy to become lost, frustrated and disconnected. Just like life is harder without friends, our work and thought leadership will be stymied without a robust strategic network.

On the other hand, when we do have 15 people in our support network we’ll find that we have cheerleaders, supporters, mentors, springboards, comforters and more. All the things we need to see us through all the ups and downs of work and life.

Finding your 15

When you are ready to find your own 15, it comes down to identifying the people that you need around you, and bringing them into your life. So creating a strategic network involves using strategic wisdom.

Pearl Zhu, author of Digitizing Boardroom, says, ‘Strategic wisdom is an integral, multidimensional intelligence.’ You can think of it as using experience, knowledge and good judgement to create your plan of action. In this case, that’s pulling together your own strategic network.

When Sarah, an expert who works with CFO's started working with me, she didn't know many people and she didn't have a lot of support around her. She was really good at what she did. But starting her own practice was a big risk for her, especially since she didn’t have a support structure in place.

Working together we identified who she needed as a support in her new practice. She looked at her layers of relationships and found those that she needed in her top 15. So she really had to identify first her customer, and once she nailed that down, she began to create her own strategic network.

As a result of that work, she started her practice and in her first year earned around $40,000 to $80,000. But her network helped her to grow her practice and within two years she was generating $800,000.

Finding the right mix, with the right additional elements or personality traits, is the key to success in building your strategic network. If you haven't started working on this, the time is now.

Questions

1. Who are the 5 people in your life you have the most meaningful relationships with?

2. Who are the 15 people who have the greatest influence on your success?

3. Who are the top clients you like and would work wth again?

Love to know your thoughts....