347: The Power of Weak Connections, with David Burkus
Coaching for Leaders
Dave Stachowiak
4.8 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2018
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
David Burkus: Friend of a Friend
David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, and an associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University. His TED talk has been viewed over 1.8 million times, he is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, and he’s now listed on Thinkers50. He’s just released his new book, Friend of a Friend*.
Key Points
- Networking should not just be about meeting total strangers.
- Constantly providing value to your network doesn’t mean you have to be close friends with everyone.
- It’s impossible to maintain close ties with everyone in your network.
- Don’t just rely on close connections, because they’re likely in the same circles as you.
- Weak ties are more likely to provide valuable information.
- When networking, it’s fine to start with your close connections to warm up, but you can’t stop there.
- Don’t let your connections get too dormant — regularly engage with them.
- Follow people on social media to know what’s going on in their lives, and then send them a personal message.
- Make your inner circle diverse to be sure you’re getting the wide-ranging insight you need.
- A diverse network will give you information you wouldn’t otherwise have.
Resources Mentioned
- Friend of a Friend* by David Burkus
- How To Give and Get The Introductions That Will Transform Your Life and Your Career
Book Notes
Download my highlights from Friend of a Friend in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
- How Superbosses Master the Flow of Talent, with Sydney Finkelstein (episode 236)
- New Management Practices of Leading Organizations, with David Burkus (episode 253)
- How to Deal With the Diminishers, with Liz Wiseman (episode 305)
Discover More
Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | When we need a favor or some advice or maybe even an introduction for a new opportunity, |
| 0:05.0 | a lot of us start by asking our closest colleagues and friends for help. |
| 0:10.0 | Yet, we may be missing a lot of opportunities by stopping there. |
| 0:16.1 | On this episode, the power of connecting with a friend of a friend. |
| 0:20.8 | This is Coaching for Leaders, episode 347. |
| 0:24.0 | Produced by Innovate Learning, Maximizing Human Potential. |
| 0:30.0 | Greetings to you from Orange County, California. This is coaching for leaders and I'm your |
| 0:38.4 | host Dave Stahoviac. Leaders aren't born, they're made, and this weekly show gives you access to the practical wisdom |
| 0:47.0 | that will empower you to become a better leader. Every leader needs to network effectively. Every leader needs to network effectively. |
| 0:53.6 | Every leader needs to build relationships. |
| 0:56.2 | And you've heard on this show many times |
| 0:58.5 | the importance and even the tactics of how to continue to grow your network through networking activities. |
| 1:06.5 | And so many of those are valuable and I do them regularly and I know many of you do as well. |
| 1:11.7 | And I also think that many of us, I know me, I'm not really always 100% up on the science |
| 1:20.9 | of networking and some of the most recent research that's coming out |
| 1:24.3 | that's helping me at least and I hope for you after today's conversation challenge |
| 1:29.5 | you to think about networking and the value of networking in a new way. |
| 1:34.0 | Today's guest is going to really challenge us on that. |
| 1:36.7 | It's going to help us to really think about how we can leverage not only building |
| 1:41.7 | new relationships, but to leverage our existing |
| 1:44.4 | relationships as well too. I'm so thrilled to welcome back to the show |
| 1:48.0 | David Burcas. David is a best-selling author, a sought-after speaker, and an associate professor of leadership and |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Dave Stachowiak, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Dave Stachowiak and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.