No Man Is an Island

In her new book, "Pull: Networking and Success Since Benjamin Franklin", business historian Pamela Walker Laird, looks at the archetypal American, entrepreneurial success stories...from Ben Franklin to Bill Gates...and explodes the self-made myth.

In looking at the biographies of self-made men, and women, she finds that that 100% of these success stories are a result of access to mentors and/or networks.

In her book, she identifies that real business is a social process...where learning the trade, getting leads, making connections, closing deals,  getting promotions...all require social interactions. It is not enough to "know" your trade. One cannot perform a trade in isolation. You can't make deals if you are unknown, and you can't be accepted as a person worth talking to...without the benefit of social capital. One's chances of closing a deal vastly improve if they can share a golf game, a beer, or a taxi with decision-makers.

In previous columns in The Prospecting Professor, I have written about the power of networking in the stories of Bill Gates, Ben Franklin, Bob Woodward, and others. It is fascinating to consider that ALL success stories are a result of mentors, networks and the access to social capital.

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