When Ronald Burt, a leading researcher in the field of social networks, studied the flow of ideas, he came to discover that those who were located near so-called ‘structural holes’ in a social network could take advantage of this to come up with a greater number of innovative ideas. That is, despite a gap between your own network and another distinct one, the trick to creativity is not necessarily to come up with an idea yourself, but to recognize that an ordinary idea from the other group can be extraordinary in your own.

What exactly then, is a structural hole? A structural hole is a space between two individuals or groups within the larger network with complementary resources. When the two are connected through a third node, this space is filled, thus benefiting the third party with profits and new information. No doubt, this is a crucial idea in the world of business, where the key to success is always stressed as the number of connections that you have. After a study that Burt conducted at Raytheon, he discovered that most leaders were good at coming up with ideas, but bad at expanding them because managers mainly interacted with other managers that were already in their information network. In order to improve the situation, it would have been helpful to tap into the power of structural holes and collaborate with people outside their regular work groups. Indeed the key is to recognize the various structural holes that even exist in your personal network in the first place. For those who do, the rewards will be significant.

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