An Early Connection

Conor Power
Nov 2 · 7 min read

When we look at leaders and strategic thinkers of past and present, there are many common traits that we can attribute to their success. These traits often include a relentless will to win, the ability to inspire, and a propensity for wise decision-making. However, one trait common to many leaders, which often goes under the radar, is the ability to make connections with others. As well as relying on their own judgement and expertise, many of history’s great leaders and strategic thinkers have used their network of connections to advance their strategic pursuits. A good network not only allows one to access the knowledge and wisdom of others, but it can also provide opportunities that may not otherwise have been available.

To see an example of the impact that a good network has had on a modern leader’s career, one need only ask a Democrat about Donald Trump’s dealings with Russia in the run-up to the 2016 US Presidential election. If, however, you are a strong believer in the moral virtues of Donald Trump, there are countless other examples of a leader’s network paying off.

One great example is the relationship between Microsoft founder Bill Gates and renowned investor Warren Buffett. In a recent interview, Gates credited Buffett with helping him to overcome the US government’s antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft in 1998. Throughout their nearly 30-year friendship, the pair have shared business tips and advice with each other, despite being in very different fields (Leskin, 2019). This relationship has undoubtedly been a contributing factor to their individual successes. The Gates-Buffett relationship highlights the reciprocity that is an essential part of any good connection. While Buffett would give Gates business advice, Gates could return the favour with his knowledge of technology, which was of great interest to Buffett as an investor.

Like many strategic thinkers, Margaret Thatcher recognized the importance of building a strong network from an early age. In 1943, Thatcher (then Roberts) began studying Chemistry at Oxford University. It was here that Thatcher was acquainted with an individual who would have a major influence on her early life. This individual was Dorothy Hodgkin, a Chemistry professor who, in 1964, became the first and only British woman to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Hodgkin was Thatcher’s supervisor at Oxford.

Studying at Oxford’s Somerville College represented the first time that Thatcher had spent any significant amount of time away from her home in Grantham. As a result, Hodgkin became one of the most influential adults in Thatcher’s life during her time at Oxford. As her supervisee, Thatcher would regularly have lunch at Hodgkin’s residence. It was during these visits that Thatcher would likely have been exposed to political conversation with Hodgkin and her friends (Ganz, 2014). These conversations may well have served as a major source of Thatcher’s interest in politics.

While the lunchtime conversations at Hodgkin’s residence may have fueled Thatcher’s interest in politics, they by no means influenced her political outlook. In fact, many of Hodgkin’s friends, including her husband, were members of the Communist party. Hodgkin herself was a left-leaning supporter of the Labour party, who was banned from entering the US in 1953 as a result of her husband’s political affiliations (Bell, 2014). As would be evident later in her political life, Thatcher was not too fond of Communism as an economic system. The fact that Thatcher held radically different views to the woman she very much admired is perhaps one early example of the stubborn resilience that she would go on to portray throughout her political career.

Fueling an interest in politics was not the only impact that Hodgkin had on Thatcher. As her supervisor, Hodgkin was influential in securing financial support for Thatcher at Oxford. Perhaps the greatest impact that Hodgkin had on Thatcher was the example she set as a successful woman. At the time of Thatcher’s university days, Hodgkin was a renowned scientist and seen as an equal to her male colleagues. Hodgkin also managed to balance her professional career with her role as a mother (Ganz, 2014). In fact, Hodgkin was the first female to be granted paid maternity leave at Oxford University (Bell, 2014).

By observing Hodgkin’s success, Thatcher would have been left with no doubt that she too could rise to the top of whatever career she chose. In fact, it was this influence coupled with an absence of males at Oxford in the 1940s, due to the war (as noted by Nina Bawden, a fellow student of Thatcher’s at Somerville), that inspired Thatcher to launch her political career (Bell, 2014). In 1946, Thatcher became the President of the Oxford University Conservative Association, marking the beginning of her political journey.

While Thatcher clearly benefited from her relationship with the scientist, Hodgkin too made use of her connection with Thatcher. In 1983, as president of the Pugwash Conference on science and world affairs, Hodgkin visited Thatcher at Chequers to plead for nuclear disarmament (Ganz, 2014). Whether or not Hodgkin’s visit influenced the Prime Minister remains uncertain, but just a few years later, Thatcher played a key role in brokering discussions between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, which resulted in the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987. This commitment to a restriction on nuclear weaponry represented a sharp U-turn from the nuclear policies that Thatcher had supported at the beginning of the 1980s (Web.archive.org, 2019).

Although, as Gamble (2014) points out, there was no suggestion that Thatcher and Hodgkin were close friends, the relationship clearly had a big impact on Thatcher. In fact, Thatcher kept a picture of Hodgkin on the walls of 10 Downing Street when she became Prime Minister (Ganz, 2014). Coincidentally, Thatcher became Prime Minister for the first time at the same age that Hodgkin won her Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

While the relationship between Thatcher and Hodgkin appears to have been influential on Thatcher’s early life, the question remains as to whether they would have developed such a relationship if they had met in the era of modern technology and information systems.

Methods of communication have changed a lot since Thatcher’s time at university. With emails (although now considered archaic by many), social networks, and instant messaging apps, people are guaranteed instant and on-demand access to communicate with anyone, anywhere in the world. Although it is now far easier to “connect” with someone, it may be that the quality of communication has deteriorated. Would Margaret Thatcher have been simply able to email Dorothy Hodgkin about her dissertation, instead of sharing lunch with her and exploring the world of politics? Or would she have gotten lost amongst the famous scientist’s 500+ connections on LinkedIn?

The internet has clearly increased our capacity to connect with more people. However, when making connections with others, Cohn (2014) points out that quality is far more important than quantity. In fact, the key to building a meaningful network is face-to-face interaction (Cohn, 2014). Therefore, simply “connecting” with people online does not guarantee a strong tie. A study of over 4,000 people between the ages of 18 and 34 by LivePerson found that two-thirds of younger people prefer to use digital means of communication than face-to-face interaction (LivePerson, 2017). This may be because connecting with someone online requires much less effort and thought than developing a face-to-face relationship. Perhaps with the comfort of online communication, Thatcher may not have had the same motivation to pursue a meaningful face-to-face relationship with Hodgkin.

However, online communication is not without its benefits. Connecting with someone over the internet removes the geographical barrier that may have in the past prevented effective communication. In fact, modern information systems may have proved a useful tool for an established figure like Hodgkin to grow her network. Upon being banned from entering the US in 1953, Hodgkin may have instead opted to connect with scientists from the US via an online platform.

Whether modern information systems would have impacted the relationship that Margaret Thatcher and Dorothy Hodgkin developed remains to be seen. However, methods of building a network have clearly changed dramatically over the last number of decades. The capacity to build a meaningful connection may not have improved as drastically as your follower count might suggest!

Bibliography

Bell, A. (2014). Margaret Thatcher’s surprising relationship with Dorothy Hodgkin | Alice Bell. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/political-science/2014/aug/13/margaret-thatchers-surprising-relationship-with-dorothy-hodgkin.

Cohn, M. (2019). Building Real Relationships Through Networking. [online] CompuKol Communications. Available at: https://www.compukol.com/building-real-relationships-through-networking/.

Gamble, J. (2014). When Hodgkin met Thatcher. [online] Nature.com. Available at: https://www.nature.com/articles/514304a.pdf?origin=ppub.

Ganz, A. (2014). Thatcher’s chemistry with Hodgkin. [online] BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-28801302.

Hanke, S. (2018). How Social Media Affects Our Ability to Communicate — Thrive Global. [online] Thriveglobal.com. Available at: https://thriveglobal.com/stories/how-social-media-affects-our-ability-to-communicate/.

Leskin, P. (2019). Bill Gates reveals why Warren Buffett was an invaluable source of support during the stormiest period of his career. [online] Business Insider. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-interview-warren-buffett-support-microsoft-antitrust-lawsuit-2019-6?r=US&IR=T.

liveperson.com. (2017). Gen Z and Millennials now more likely to communicate with each other digitally than in person — Oct 17, 2017. [online] Available at: https://pr.liveperson.com/index.php?s=43&item=504.

Web.archive.org. (2019). CNN Cold War — Profile: Margaret Thatcher. [online] Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20080703072749/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/thatcher/ [Accessed 25 Oct. 2019].

An exploration of how Margaret Thatcher could have utilized modern information systems to achieve her strategic goals

Conor Power

Written by

The Iron Lady
Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade