Claude Grunitzky Case Solution
1525 1162 Words (6 Pages) Julie Battilana, Lakshmi Ramarajan, James Weber Harvard Business School : 412065
For the people who he considered not so important, he kept virtual ties only. In that too, there was a segregation; the people with less importance were just connected through social media with him while others enjoyed emails and consistent correspondence from him. As he grew busy and his social circle grew, he systematically distributed his response time to the individuals.
How Claud managed his social network?
How did he avoid building a homogenous social network?
Building the social network
Key to success and advice for future
Recognizing opportunities and creating value
Case Analysis for Claude Grunitzky
1. How Claud managed his social network?
Claud had an extensive circle of friends. His core networking practice was to throw big parties where he would invite around 600 people. Those who couldn't be invited because of the capacity are invited to the next party; this was how he circulated guests. As he gained entry to esteemed circles, he began holding dinner parties, which were more formal but also more connecting for the people. In them again, he would circulate guests and invited a mixed bunch of people every time.
Then as his circle grew, he began assigning levels to the people; those who were most influential people in his view were given the highest priority as they had many important contacts in addition to their worth. Then there were the people who he wanted to stay in touch with but were not important to the business. They came after the first category.
He kept data bases of his contacts. He had a notebook in which he has noted all the most important contacts, he tried to meet each of them at least once every month. Then the people who were in his electronic data base, he would send them gift cards and such things but did not make a lot of efforts to meet them in person. He utilized the social media and other electronic means to keep track of his contacts. He used social media to connect with fans while the more personal or favorite people got his personal attention.
2. How did he avoid building a homogenous social network?
Claud knew many people belonging to different walks of life. As he was interested in hip-hop, in the beginning, an inclination towards people of that genre is observable in his early years. This would have caused a homogeneity in his social network, but he avoided it by simultaneously connecting with people from different walks of life. Again, apart from some of his personal friends, these were only people who were important to his business. They included prominent journalists, politicians, artists, businessmen and many others.
Claud's segregated system of connecting with the people also helped him create a heterogeneous society of individuals around him (Chen, et al., 2009). He had reserved separate mediums for people with a different value to him. He was even connected with different people differently; with some, he had kept just a distant relation while some were subject to many personal encounters on his account. Further, his system allowed people of different walks of life are getting together with each other and connecting with each other forming a collective diverse group of interconnected individuals (Di Nicola, et al., 2011).
3. Building the social network
In building his social network, Claud utilized his contacts to get him new contacts. He had a likeable personality and the ability to develop a healthy relationship with the people he met. He had a knack for knowing which person could be most profitable for him and this allowed him to develop strong ties with that person while keeping weak ties with other people he met. He treated these individuals very differently from everyone else. He also utilized these direct contacts to indirectly link him to other influential people from whom he benefited a lot. He kept the people who had the most influential ties close to himself and utilized their contacts whenever he needed to. This way, he gained acceptance in many esteemed circles and met great individuals who guided him and became his valuable partners in life.