Nodes and links – these are all the elements needed to model our complex networked world of people, places, and organizations. Almost all the sciences—physical, biological, human—make extensive use of network models—which is why there can be a general science of networks.

While organizations have been studied as networks of people (e.g., social network analysis), they have not been studied as networks of positions. People-in-positions entwine the social network of people with the organization network of positions.

People networks have typically been modeled with simple ties, “undirected links,” standing for some sort of relationship between two people-as-nodes. We model organization networks with “directed links,” lines with arrowheads, forceful relationships that generate dynamic patterns of interaction.