The Connector. Who is?
The first decade of the twenty-first century is known as the “fast decade” due to the speed of innovation in all fields.
It is exactly in this period that the term “Connector” was coined in the communication sector, in order to bring small but significant changes in the way we interact with others, especially in the consulting field.
in 2000, Malcolm Gladwell, Canadian journalist and sociologist as well as author of numerous bestsellers, become the interpreter of this change with the book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference”).
Overseas, the common figure of company consultant was soon replaced by a new professional figure that differed from the former for his intrinsic and marked skills in problem solving.
This metamorphosis brought about the debut of a new “figure”, known as the Connector, of whom on the one hand we appreciate his innate curiosity and predisposition to listen and on the other his incomparable capacity to analyze any type of submitted query.
The success of the Connector is in his ability to move with ease within different social contexts facilitating the communication between people.
The Connector, being naturally inclined towards socialization, benefits therefore from an important contact network in many occupational areas that allow him to easily fulfill the preset goals.
There are many definitions used by Malcolm Gladwell that allow the reader of his essay to identify whether a Connector is present within his circle of relationships. In my opinion, the definition that summarizes the uniqueness of this new professional figure in the best way is “a Connector is essentially the social equivalent of a computer network hub given his ability to know many worlds and link people to networks they did not know existed”.
This new figure therefore combines the characteristics of the Connector (for his relationship with qualified people) with the characteristics of the market expert (for his ability to find solutions to other people’s problems as if they were his own).