Guest AuthorTruths are elusive. Many insights that seem universally applicable and worthy of the designation as a truism end up collapsing under the weight of context.
An observation about how the world works may make sense in one situation but fails to hold up in another. I have two truths to share: Who you know gets you in the door; what you know gets you up the stairs.
I expect you’ve heard the first in its more succinct form, “It’s who you know.” We’ve all experienced it even if we do not recognize it.
My students have heard my Law of Who and What every year I’ve taught. It’s my best counsel offered in response to the considerable anxiety they experience when searching for a job.
Early in my teaching career, I combined Who with What as a convenient way to avoid destroying any sense of value they had in their education. I shared the advice as a counter to the pessimistic cliché, “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”
If it’s only who you know, students ask what can be the point of humanities classes and other seemingly obscure graduation requirements. We’ve all cast judgment on the inherent value of courses or particular assignments by wondering, “When will I ever use this again?”
What you know, however, isn’t just rhetorical Prozac. It’s a truth on equal par with who you know. In practice, the two sides of this maxim play off each other. Theory and research demonstrate their integrated power under the rubric of “social capital.” More important, the combination of Who and What holds up in the school of life.
Climbing the career ladder demonstrates the rule of Who and What. Knowing which door to knock on and ultimately getting beyond the gatekeeper is much easier for those who have networks or can access the network of others. It’s the LinkedIn model. Promotions and plumb assignments favor those who can add value once inside. It’s Who and What — not Who or What.
In politics, access is everything but only gets you so far if you don’t know the rules of the game. That’s where what you know comes in handy. You need to know more than what a Schoolhouse Rock animation can teach about how a bill becomes a law. Lobbyists are well paid because they have both access and navigation skills.
All the plus sides of this interaction come with a down side of particular interest to those in public policy and community development. Research illustrates what I consider the first Law of Socio-Economic Intervention. If the conditions in which people find themselves are to change, such as poverty, then they must possess social capital. The absence of Who and What knowledge locks too many in the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
Here’s how. Access to public services is insufficient. The impoverished must know how to navigate them. Search results at the local workforce board is only half the equation, even for someone with trade skills. An equally, if not more important set of capabilities, include the soft skills of relationship building necessary to connect What with Who.
The role that initiative and persistence play in the development and application of social capital can hardly be overemphasized. Yet it’s a two way street. Networks have rungs. Someone also must be in reach with an extended hand. This requires willingness on the part of some “other” to reach from a position to help. Any kind of success depends on it.
We’ve become too dependent on government to be the outstretched hand, and we too often think that a helping hand is synonymous with money. You can’t buy social capital. It’s not too late to resolve to insert yourself into the universal equation of opportunity for others.
The full lesson of the Law of Who and What is the mutual benefit realized in the creation of social capital. It’s not charity at all. Building trust and creating interdependence is the best kind of investment.
When you give, you get. And you know that’s the truth, too.
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Dale Brill, Ph.D., is founder and obsessive thinker for Thinkspot Inc., a Florida-based consulting firm. He has previously served as chief marketing officer for VISIT FLORIDA, director of the Office of Tourism, Trade & Economic Development and president of the Florida Chamber Foundation. You can reach Dale at [email protected]. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
