Social Capital Mentor

I haven’t yet read Juliette Powell’s new book 33 Million People in the Room,but I came across this interview with Dan Schwabel and my interest is piqued.

There’s no shortage of information out there these days about the value of social networking. Yes, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter are important for online social media marketing. We know that.

Fortunately, Juliette is going further with her book. From what I’ve read in Dan’s interview and also on Juliette’s site, not only does she discuss one of my favorite current examples of successful social media efforts—the Barack Obama 2008 Presidential campaign—but more importantly, Juliette speaks directly to the value of social capital. Social capital, when put to use, can be “leveraged and amplified.” Here’s Juliette answering a question in Dan’s interview:

The inspiration behind the book came from successful people in my life like Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales. I noticed that many of the same patterns emerged in their thinking and in the ways they do business. Because they are both friends and we’ve worked on projects together, I’ve been blessed with a unique opportunity to connect dots that I wouldn’t necessarily have noticed otherwise. In each case, social and cultural capital were leveraged and amplified. Eventually that potent combination and a lot of vision and strategy led them to exponential financial capital. 33 Million People in the Room goes over tools and techniques that you and your business can apply to begin to do the same.

Later in the interview she comes out and directly makes the connection between social capital and financial capital:

33 Million People in the Room is a practical guide that takes readers through steps to building social and cultural capital and how that can in turn lead to higher financial capital for you and your business.

And from her sales page for her book:

… social capital makes sound business sense and when successfully established can translate into capital in the bank.

Juliette is part of a growing number of professionals who get it: social capital can take the place of—and turn into—financial capital. Bravo!

Like I said in an earlier post, Social Capital Gives You Financial Capital, the more bad news we hear about the economy and the less financial capital there is to go around… the more important social capital becomes. Go out and buy this book. Let us know what you think.

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