Being an Author – What Happens Afterwards? Two Years After Publishing

My Author’s Journey: Two Years Since Publishing “Today’s Superpower”: Building Networks

Introduction: 

A few years back, I was a chemist and almost about to start a PhD, and thinking that innovation was working for a big company, in their R&D department. Back in 2018; I was in Switzerland attending some conferences about “spin outs” and was very attracted to the idea, that your research can become your company. A few months later; reading patents, I came across a profile of someone working in Silicon Valley. By multiple attemtps; in different ways, I finally got that internship and was able to work a full year in Silicon Valley. 

These 12 months changed my life; and changed my perspective massively; on what is innovation all about. The biggest lesson I gained from being there is that building a business is not so much about market opportunity; or how much money you got but rather on how you think and communicate. 

It’s about the mindset, and everyone who went there, knows it. “Silicon Valley is not a location; it’s a mindset.” – Reid Hoffman (CEO of LinkedIn)

Upon my return in Europe, during covid, I came back frustrated. Where are all those events? Why am I not getting invited to investors dinner? Why do others don’t make an intro if they see I would need it? Why do I have to research information by myself; and I don’t get it from my network? 

Because in Europe; we think different. We’re protective, we don’t share. We don’t necessarly want to help entreprnreurs, if we don’t get anything in return right away. Silcion Valley succeed, in my opinion due to it’s thriving, muldisplinary startup ecosystem where people effectivily use their networks to gather new intelliegence, ideas, access to ressources and people to work for them.  

 I wrote “Today’s Superpower: Building Networks” because I realized the immense potential of business ecosystems in fostering innovation and growth. My transformative experiences in Silicon Valley highlighted the importance of collaboration, interdisciplinary connections, and the shift from a protective mindset to one of abundance and giving. This book aims to provide practical insights and tools for leveraging networks to thrive in the rapidly changing business landscape. 

In the book; you will be reading now just claims, but a lot of data; such as: 

• A meta-analysis from the University of Arizona led by Nathan Podsakoff investigated 38 organizational behavior studies representing more than 3,500 business units from different industries and found a robust correlation between employee giving and desirable business outcomes, such as increased productivity, higher profitability, efficiency, customer satisfaction, lower costs, and turnover rates.

• Companies interacting with external partners can overcome obstacles such as slow execution and lack of expertise, leading to better decisions, improved ideas, and access to critical data and information.

• A report from McKinsey indicated that only 2% of businesses are currently utilizing a business ecosystem model, but this is expected to rise to 30% by 2030, demonstrating the growing importance of business networks.

• Reid Hoffman stated that building a new company alone is generally a recipe for failure, emphasizing the importance of assembling a network to increase the chances of success by providing intelligence, resources, and support.

• Studies have proven that being abroad makes people more creative. A diverse network is better at testing assumptions in product building, helping to remove confirmation bias and making better decisions.

• According to research from LinkedIn, when employees share content, they typically see a click-through rate double that of their company. Even though only 3% of employees share content, they generate 30% of all content engagement for a typical business.