The Network You Can’t See

Using the collapse of Schwinn Bicycle Company as a case study, this piece argues that leaders operate within two networks: a visible managed network of direct reports and peers, and an invisible second network of weak ties. Drawing on Mark Granovetter's 1973 'Strength of Weak Ties' research and AnnaLee Saxenian's comparison of Silicon Valley vs. Route 128, it explains why strong-tie networks produce informationally redundant feedback loops while weak ties bridge structural holes and deliver novel signal. Schwinn's executives failed not from lack of intelligence but from a closed advisory loop that couldn't surface the mountain bike revolution happening in their own backyard. The post advocates for deliberately cultivating weak ties through peer groups and periodic outreach, offering diagnostic questions to assess whether your second network is alive or atrophying.