Networlding and Davos

"The bottomline is to target the top 100 socially responsible companies and provide them with the perfect support to get to the next level of innovating new products and services. From here the 100 will be asked to mentor, each, another small group of 10 along with more support from a team of experts. Within one year the results could realize more than 10,000 companies innovating new products and services, creating major economic revitalization."

- Melissa Giovagnoli

I was asked yesterday what my exact program would look like if I were to be asked to implement it. The highlights are as follows:

1. Hold a contest to identify the top 100 socially responsible companies in the world. This contest would require companies to provide a comprehensive action plan outlining the steps they would take to grow their businesses to a new level of effectiveness. Note that the contest would provide monetary and facilitated support from a "network" of complimentary experts (e.g. consultants, accountants, attorneys, bankers, engineers, analysts, technologists, and specialty thought leaders).
   
   Each company would have what I call a "Power-of-Ten Circle of Support." The magic number I have found after fifteen years of implementing effective networks is "10." In the science of networks this number plays out well as a network that is the most powerful in leveraging results.
   
   Also note that each of these experts of support for each of the 100 companies must have "facilitator" skills. Why? Because facilitators are "other-people focused." They are able to maestro the collective skills to create a result that is more than the sum of the individual parts. They "get" collaboration. This is not a time for people to grandstand. It's a time for all of us to "leave our egos at the door."
   


2. Each Networlding Power-of-Ten Facilitator Group would assist their respective socially responsible company that wins the contest for three months in achieving goals that address, certainly, financial gain, but also community support. This second step responds to something that Bill Gates said in his talk at Davos in 2008. He talked about "creative capitalism" which includes those less fortunate. Here I believe the challenge and also opportunity grows. I know I keep bringing up the concept of networks, but I believe there is a way to do "network thinking."
   
   What does this look like? It is all about thinking both analytically (left-brain dominant thinking) and creative (right-brain dominant thinking). This "whole-brain" thinking creates a network effect that, again, is more than the sum of its parts. Studies show that only 2-5% of the population are whole-brain thinkers. What if we locate these people who can optimize their network thinking ability to help companies build more opportunities?
   
   
3. Paying it Forward - Each participant is asked to continue the mentoring or peer-mentoring support to others who are either socially responsible business leaders or potential community leaders who come from disadvantaged communities. The visual here is about "rippling out and trickling down." These mentors who have gone through Networlding are "ready, willing and able" to help others and, in turn, have them paying forward the similar support that helps others with entrepreneurial interests who are disadvantaged.