The Prospecting Professor: Ben Franklin: Networker

January 17, 2006

Ben Franklin: Networker

Today, January 17th, is the birth anniversary of Benjamin Franklin. I'll spare you the well-worn stories about Franklin inventing bifocals, or his experiments with electricity. What I would like to discuss is Franklin's creation of the "Junto Society."

In 1727, Franklin convinced 12 of his friends to form a club dedicated to mutual improvement. Meeting one night a week, this group of young men discussed the topics of the day. The group lasted for 40 years...and eventually became the nucleus of the American Philosophical Society.

Junto (pronounced who-n-toe), was a private forum for discussion. One of the functions of the group was to brainstorm publicly beneficial ideas. The members of the Junto were drawn from diverse occupations and backgrounds, but they all shared a spirit of inquiry and a desire to improve themselves, their community, and to help others. Among the original members were printers, surveyors, a cabinetmaker, a cobbler, a clerk, and a merchant. Most of the group was older than Franklin, yet he was clearly the leader.

The Junto's Friday evening meetings were organized around a series of questions that Franklin devised, covering a range of intellectual, personal, business, and community topics. These questions were used as a springboard for discussion and community action. In fact, through the Junto Society, Franklin promoted concepts such as: libraries, volunteer fire departments, public hospitals, police departments, paved streets, and the University of Pennsylvania.

One of the other interesting aspects of the Junto Society is that the members recommended books, shopkeepers, and even friends to each other...much like the various networking groups that have sprung up over the past few years.

January 17, 2006 in Networking | Permalink