It’s no secret that I am a fan of Professor Ronald Burt’s work. His book “Structural Holes: the Social Structure of Competition ”, is a seminal publication. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for “Brokerage and Closure ”, although I would still give it four stars. Read in sequence and in conjunction with each other they offer the knowledge management practitioner and network analyst some useful insights.

Once again Burt’s writing style is academic in flavour, with many examples. At times it is heavy going, but I still think well worth the effort. Burt remains interested in the structure of networks and particularly the links, or relationships, rather than node attributes. I think the focus on links rather than nodes is important. I just wish the software tools were better at showing link attributes, although I note NetMiner 3 is becoming more powerful in this area. One of the taken for granted but important assertions Burt makes is relationships amplify diversity and individual power, however in turn many diverse links enhance the power of relationships.

The central theme of this book is still around brokerage between structural holes ...

About a month ago I read “Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another” by Doctor Philip Ball , who is a physicist by education and a science writer for Nature . I read it because of my interest in networks and complexity, and this book promised some insights. It was an entertaining read, but was hard going in a lot of places. Despite this the book was well written and flowed naturally.

I did enjoy the first chapter on Thomas Hobbes "Leviathan", probably because I like philosophy! The point of the chapter was that mankind has been trying to discover universal laws of society since at least 1651, and continues to do so. In subsequent chapters at times I was disappointed and found myself saying “So what!” or “Where is the evidence?” – cause and effect where not always clear to me. ...

I’ve just finished reading “Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World” by Patti Anklam , who is a recognised practitioner in network analysis circles. The central theme is we work through informal and formal networks, which may be tangible or intangible, but all have value. Her primary assumption is that all networks can be mapped. These maps serve to describe the network and provide a diagnosis of the health of the mapped entity, albeit the map is a snapshot in time. Patti’s premise is if the network can be mapped and described then the network can be managed and weaved – a premise I largely agree with, and which is an underlying assumption in my research .

"Net Work” has a five-star rating on the Amazon site and other book sites. Personally I would give it three and a half stars, as in some areas I think it a bit shallow. For example, it purports to be a practical guide but there are few examples of questions and even fewer how to examples. I also think the absence of a chapter on network measures and metrics is a major deficiency. ...

I’ve just finished reading “Weak Links: Stabilizers of Complex Systems from Proteins to Social Networks” by Peter Csermely , who is a Professor of Biochemistry at the Semmelweis University of Budapest. The central theme is weak links are the determinants of system stability and diversity. Csermely defines a link “as 'weak', when its addition or removal does not change the mean value of a target measure at a statistically discernible way" (p. 83).

The book is an interesting read if only because its topic matter ranges from network complexity in physical systems, to biological systems, and finally social and cultural systems. Personally I think there are a few longbows drawn, but in fairness Csermely does clearly indicate where he is engaging in speculation. One fascinating discussion was the discourse on pink noise. Pink noise is also known as coloured noise, flicker noise, crackling noise and Barkhausen noise. Seemingly pink noise is present in systems as diverse as solar flares, traffic flows and group decision making, and has a stabilising or relaxing effect. Quoting several scientific sources he postulates that pink noise helps neural synchronisation, which is partly responsible for memory formation. To put it another way if you want to memorise something have Mozart playing in the background rather than bagpipes, because Mozart’s music has pink noise properties! ...

As promised a while ago here is a review of Professor Ronald Burt’s book “Structural Holes: the Social Structure of Competition ”, which was written in 1992. This is a seminal publication and a must read for anyone interested in network theory. The book has an academic flavour but is well written, with many easy to understand examples.

Burt’s central thesis is that structural holes in business networks are very important. A structural hole is a gap between two individuals. When the two are connected through a third individual important advantages accrue for the third individual, who may employ a tertius strategy .

Burt ascribes four signature qualities of competition to his structural hole argument ...