[bvw]

That’s interesting. More data-based than Malcolm Gladwell’s mavens, connectors and salesmen.

[muawiyah]

Yes, isn't it. My observations over the years were that no matter how professional managers organized Postal Headuarters (which always had 2000 to 4000 employees) there were maybe 50 people ~ virtually all of them safely off to the side ~ who actually RAN everything by influencing events.

For quite some time we had a situation where the brass actually thought they ran the business ~ and that didn't work out at all. Took a while but the informal "influence" network reasserted itself.