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A keystone case in business
schools’ Organizational Behavior classes, the Heidi Roizen case follows a
master networker through her extensive business experience in Silicon
Valley and transition into a new opportunity in venture capital. The case
delves into strategies that Roizen used through her years at T/Maker,
Apple, and Softbank Venture Capital to build an impressive professional
network.
In her new role in venture
capital, she finds herself faced with the challenge of improving efficiency
among her vast network of colleagues and influencers while wanting to
preserve the depth and quality of her relationships. The case poses the
question of how her new role—a role in which thousands of people in her
network might approach her personally—affects the nature of the network she
worked so hard to build.
The case touches upon several
building blocks of Roizen’s mastery of networking:
·
Leveraging contacts only when she
could see a true “win-win” for both parties. Heidi served as the “door”
through which people make connections that are truly beneficial to both
parties
·
Demonstrating initiative and
fearlessness in taking opportunities, e.g., establishing a personal
connection to the CEO because she was invited to meetings that he also
attended
·
Making the most of short,
informal conversations: “Heidi is a pro at turning a brief conversation
into one of substance by contributing one or two unique ideas in a short
period of time. That helps make the conversation memorable.”
·
Taking advantage of opportunities
to sit on a panel or give an interview, making a point of giving her
undivided attention to any audience.
·
·
Being willing to invest time in
relationships with people she finds interesting; coincidentally, these
people end up having fame and fortune: “It’s easier to get to know people
when they’re not famous; then when they do become famous, you already have
a relationship with them.”
·
Maintaining confidentiality and
neutrality in sensitive discussions. The case highlights an example between
Apple and Microsoft—Roizen was working for Apple; Bill Gates was a personal
friend. Her ability to remain neutral resulted in a mending of the
relationship between two rivals
·
Doing her homework, sending an
email to her contact the day before a meeting, and keeping that email short
and to the point
·
Creating “constellations” of
networks—establishing very close ties with people who were the nuclei of
other networks so that she could tap into their networks if needed without
having to stay in close contact with each person in those networks individually
Perhaps even more famous than the
case itself is a study around gender perception that came out involving
this case. While teaching the Roizen case at Columbia University, Professor
Frank Flynn made his students experimental guinea pigs.
He gave half the students the
original case with the name Heidi and the other half a modified case where
the protagonist was a man with the name Howard. He then asked students
their impressions of Heidi or Howard, asking students to rate the subject’s
competence and likability.
Flynn discovered that while the
participants rated both Heidi and Howard as equally competent and worthy of
respect, students would have preferred to work with Howard over Heidi. They
saw Heidi as selfish and not "the type of person you would want to
hire or work for." The gender perception bias has spurred discussion
all the way from business schools to pop culture forums to international
news outlets.
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