Soft Networks

In Talent (Book), “soft networks” is the closing argument of Tyler Cowen and Daniel Gross’s case on hiring: for all the energy poured into scouting and interviewing, “there is no real substitute for having a good or great pool of candidates,” and that pool “will depend on your soft networks, ones that you and your institutions have been cultivating for years.” The book inventories what a soft network is made of — the people you know, institutions willing to recommend you, your image in the eyes of the informed public, your network of previous employees, media coverage, social-media presence, and donors or board members.

The book’s punchline elevates the network to a first-class asset: “If you believe that talent is the greatest asset of your institution, you also ought to believe that your soft network is one of the greatest assets of your institution,” because it’s how you attract future talent and retain current talent by making the place more prestigious. The authors note the paradox in practice — almost everyone agrees soft networks matter, yet they stay “neglected” because building them never feels urgent against the day’s fires. The book’s prescription is indirect: soft networks accrete as a byproduct of doing “quality work, in some publicly observable manner,” rather than from a deliberate “let’s build out the soft network today” campaign.

Where this appears

• Talent (Book) — the closing argument that an institution’s candidate pool and soft network are among its greatest talent assets, built indirectly through publicly observable quality work.