Most experienced executives have built a substantial network. Their phones contain years of contacts, and their LinkedIn accounts connect them to customers, suppliers, representatives, engineers, investors, and former colleagues. That reach may look impressive, but the size of a network says little about its commercial value.
In 2011, Lars Backstrom, Paolo Boldi, Marco Rosa, Johan Ugander, and Sebastiano Vigna released Four Degrees of Separation. Their study examined approximately 721 million active Facebook users and 69 billion friendship links. The researchers calculated an average path length of 4.74 connections, which they described as 3.74 intermediaries, or degrees of separation. The finding describes the Facebook network that existed at the time and cannot establish that every future customer, partner, or investor is fewer than five introductions away.
For business leaders, the more useful implication is that people with relevant knowledge, influence, or relationships may be closer than we assume. Distance is only one part of the problem. Leaders still need to understand where to start, who is positioned to help, and whether the opportunity is credible enough to justify an introduction.
Over the years, I have found that a large network creates possibilities. Value comes from understanding how to engage the right part of it for a specific business need.
A Network Is More Than a List of Contacts
I have spent much of my career in lighting, manufacturing, product development, commercialization, and strategic partnerships. Across those areas, I have learned that the person with the most contacts may not be the best person for a particular situation. The more useful connector is often someone who understands the market, is respected within it, and participates in conversations that extend beyond my direct reach.
That person may know which sales agency is looking for a new line, which manufacturer needs a particular capability, which company is considering another channel, or which owner may be open to a strategic discussion. Finding the right person requires more than scrolling through a contact list. I start with the business problem, research the market and the companies involved, and study the backgrounds of the people who may have relevant knowledge or relationships. Then I consider who in my network understands the situation well enough to help.
Preparation matters because an introduction carries some of the connector’s credibility. Before I ask someone to open a door, I need to understand why the conversation could be worthwhile for both parties. A weak or poorly prepared opportunity should not become someone else’s reputational risk.
Building Market Coverage From the Ground Up
Earlier in my lighting career, I helped create a new commercial and industrial brand. The business needed qualified representation and a credible way to enter established sales channels. Recruiting agencies entirely through cold outreach would have taken significant time and wouldn’t have guaranteed that the right agencies would engage.
Years of industry relationships helped us begin conversations with experienced lighting agencies across the United States and Canada. Those relationships reduced the time required to reach established market representation, but every agency still had to decide whether the opportunity justified its attention. We needed a clear market position, responsive support, useful sales tools, and a leadership team prepared to follow through.
During an 18-month period, the commercial business grew by approximately 230 percent. That result reflected the work of the broader team, the product offering, market conditions, agency performance, and internal execution. The network helped us establish coverage faster and use our resources more efficiently, but it was one part of a larger commercialization effort.
That experience shaped how I think about network activation. Established relationships can reduce the time required to reach the right people. The business still needs a sound strategy and consistent execution once the conversation begins.
When a Network Becomes Operating Infrastructure
In another leadership role, I joined a company with an established retail business and interviewed the people responsible for sourcing and product development programs. I saw an operating structure that placed sourcing, product development, international supply-chain requirements, and the demands of a growing retail channel on the same internal group. The team was working hard within a structure that was not built to scale reliably.
The company needed greater depth in logistics, contracts, compliance, and international supply-chain management. Through my network, I knew a specialized organization that could provide those capabilities. We moved from a primarily internal model to an outsourced supply-chain structure before COVID disrupted global commerce. The decision came from the operating limitations I observed at the time, not from an ability to predict the crisis.
When COVID arrived, the company faced global supply-chain disruption while demand increased for products used by people working from home. The outside organization was already part of the operation and brought experience in areas where the internal staff had limited capacity. That additional capability improved the company’s ability to manage a difficult combination of supply pressure and increased demand.
My network provided access to the organization. The business value came from diagnosing the constraint, selecting the right resource, integrating it before the crisis, and allowing specialists to handle work that required deeper expertise. This experience reminded me that a professional network can support a business’s operating infrastructure as well as its sales pipeline.
One Introduction, Followed by Real Work
A different situation involved a lighting company that had decided to leave an adjacent market. The company had designed and manufactured products that had demonstrated demand, but its go-to-market plan had been disrupted. Management was left with a significant inventory position and needed a responsible way to move forward.
Liquidating the inventory was one option. I believed we could achieve a better outcome by finding a company that understood the market and could see value beyond a one-time purchase. I did not know the eventual partner, and I had no evidence that a buyer was waiting. I knew one person who was respected in that market and connected to the right conversations. Based on our business relationship and my understanding of his position in the industry, I believed he would recognize where a legitimate need existed.
I called him, explained the situation, and asked whether anyone in his network might see a strategic fit. He facilitated an introduction and then stepped back. He was pleased to connect the parties and left the discussion and negotiation to us.
The companies worked through the details themselves. What began as a solution for existing inventory developed into a longer-term design and manufacturing partnership that remains active today. The introduction helped the parties find each other quickly. The partnership endured because the commercial fit was real and both sides did the work required to establish expectations, agree on terms, and perform after the agreement was made.
Extending Beyond the People You Know
Today, I use the same process to develop strategic partnerships, expand sales channels, enter new markets, and cultivate potential M&A opportunities. The work often reaches beyond the people I speak with regularly. In those situations, I research the prospective company, identify the person most relevant to the opportunity, review that person’s background, and determine whether a credible connection exists between my network and theirs.
Sometimes the path is direct. In other cases, a trusted contact knows someone who is better positioned to reach the right executive, owner, advisor, or industry specialist. This is where the idea behind degrees of separation becomes commercially relevant, as long as its limits remain clear. A short path does not create trust. An introduction does not indicate interest, a meeting does not establish strategic alignment, and access to an owner does not mean a company is for sale.
Research helps determine whether there is a legitimate reason for two people or organizations to speak. When that reason exists, the introduction should be clear, respectful, and based on potential value for both parties. Once the connection is made, each party has to decide whether the opportunity deserves further work.
What Responsible Network Activation Requires
After using networks across sales, manufacturing, product development, supply-chain management, partnerships, and corporate development, I have found that the process depends more on judgment than reach. The business problem comes first. Without a clear understanding of what needs to be solved, it is difficult to identify the right connector or explain why an introduction matters.
The opportunity must also be credible. A respected contact should not be asked to lend credibility to an unprepared team, a weak proposition, or a one-sided request. There should be a reasonable basis for mutual value, even when the parties eventually decide that the fit is not right.
After the introduction, the parties need room to develop their own relationship. The connector should not be expected to carry the transaction unless the parties have agreed in advance. Validation, negotiation, execution, and accountability belong to the organizations involved.
Some introductions will not produce a transaction. They may lead to useful information, a different connection, or a better understanding of the market. Others will go no further. That outcome does not invalidate the process. It means the parties evaluated the opportunity and made a decision.
The Distance Is Only the Beginning
The Four Degrees of Separation study showed that people within a very large social network were connected by surprisingly short paths. Business networks can feel similar, particularly in established industries where executives, agencies, suppliers, engineers, investors, and owners often participate in overlapping conversations.
The more important questions are whether a leader understands the business problem, can identify the person positioned to help, and has prepared an opportunity worthy of the connection. My network has helped me build market coverage, strengthen operating capabilities, solve an inventory problem, develop lasting partnerships, and reach conversations beyond my immediate circle. In every case, the introduction was the beginning. Research, judgment, mutual value, and execution determined what happened next.
A network becomes an advantage when it is used responsibly, with a clear business purpose and respect for everyone whose credibility helps move the conversation forward.