Connectional Intelligence: How to Get Big Things Done

"We've been living with the internet now for twenty years and it's not news that we're all connected. Unless a totalitarian government swoops down and takes away our cell phones and our access to social media, that connectivity isn't going anywhere. The question is: How do you and I grab hold of this newfound connectivity to take us to the places we want to go? At a time when old-fashioned routes to power—the schools you went to, the contacts in your address book, the families you were born into—are not the only ways to get ahead, how do we connect intelligently, e.g. better, faster, more efficiently, and use all of our connections to make our ideas happen? Almost everyone has at least the capacity to link up with people, power, ideas, information and resources, but how do we synthesize it all to produce real change and influence people's lives for the better? The key is thinking differently about our connections. We need a shift in perception that empowers us to be the drivers of our digital tools and our new resources. This doesn't just mean executives or traditional gatekeepers. This means anyone. This means you."