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When it comes to influential people in the world, they are more often than not connected to a number of different individuals. These connections provide social resources that can helps us accomplish many of our objectives. This form of social capital is often referred to as 'bridging social capital' and provides us access to contacts that could provide us with the valuable support we may need.

Influential people are not just defined as politicians, actors or sports figures, but those individuals who are central to their network. This could mean that they are often sought after for information, advice, knowledge or contacts from people in their network. This is advantageous in that they are usually the ones that get the most up-t0-date and relevant information.

From a technical perspective, influential people are typically connected to a number of contacts from a very diverse background. The greater the influence, the more likely that they will have a higher level of social capital. The unfortunate reality is that not all of us are connected to influential people directly. This is not to say that a second degree connection to influential people is not as effective and valuable.

In previous posts I've often cited research that reveals that the information we seek does not come from the person we initially connect with. The reality is that information will come from someone they are connected to, whether a second or third degree.  Working on this premise requires that we think more deeply about who we know and who they know. Thinking strategically about our contacts contacts will perhaps lead us to those influential people that are connected to the social resources we require to accomplish our goals.

The bottom line; the more influential people we know, the greater the access to resources that can help us accomplish our objectives.  We don't have to be directly tied to these individual and if we're not we have to think strategically about how we can gain access to them. This usually occurs through one of our contacts, so a connection strategy needs to be put in place to increase the likelihood of gaining access to the individual. 

We all have an opportunity to gain access to influential people, who in turn may provide us contacts who can help us. As long as we think strategically about who we know and are prepared to make the encounters mutually beneficial, anything is possible.

JP