Organizational Memory
Network card, MethodKit for Memory & Reminiscence
Card 37 of 66 · MethodKit for Memory & Reminiscence
  • ThemeCustomers & Market
  • CardCard 37 of 66
  • Questions5 to explore
Customers & Market

Network

People & organizations you connect with

The network an organization operates within is one of its least visible and most valuable assets.

Networks are inherently personal. The connections that open doors, provide introductions, or create opportunities are typically held by specific individuals, not by the organization as a whole. When those individuals leave, the network does not automatically transfer.

What is worth capturing is not an exhaustive contacts database but a map of the relationships that actually matter: who your most important connectors know, which relationships have led to real opportunities, and who inside the organization maintains which ties.

This is also about knowing where the organization has gaps. Understanding which parts of the ecosystem you are not connected to is as useful as knowing where you are.

What to capture

For this part of the company brain, what is worth writing down and keeping current. The goal is not a complete archive but a living record that new people can read and returning people can trust.

Key relationships

The people and organizations whose connections have created value, with a note on who internally holds each relationship.

Relationship owners

Which team members maintain which external relationships, so those connections do not disappear when people move on.

Network gaps

Parts of the ecosystem, sector, or community where the organization has thin or no connections and would benefit from building them.

How the network was built

The events, communities, collaborations, or circumstances that produced the most valuable relationships, so the pattern can be understood and repeated.

Questions to explore

Use these on your own or in a group. There are no right answers, only better conversations.

  1. Who are the most important people and organizations in our network, and how did those relationships develop?

  2. Which internal people hold the most significant external relationships?

  3. Are there parts of our ecosystem or sector where we have few connections?

  4. Which relationships have created the most concrete opportunities for the organization?

  5. What would happen to the network if the people who maintain it today moved on?

Things to notice

  • Networks are not portable. The relationship belongs to the person, not the organization, and that distinction matters when people leave.
  • Weak ties are easy to underestimate. The contacts that do not feel important day-to-day are often the ones that create unexpected opportunities.
  • Network gaps compound. If the organization is not connected to a certain part of its ecosystem, it often does not know what it is missing.