Leveraging the Pyramid of Influence

Sophia needed to pitch her app to a major hospital CEO, but she kept hitting voicemail. Finally she noticed the countless accommodations requests filed by the CEO’s gatekeeper, Linda. One Friday afternoon Sophia mailed Linda a handwritten note and a bar of premium dark chocolate to celebrate her birthday, which she learned from LinkedIn. Monday morning, Linda emailed Sophia: “Thanks for thinking of me—when would you like that call?”

When Sophia’s ten-minute briefing call arrived, she didn’t ask for the CEO—she offered to save the executive a briefing deck by summarizing her main points over the weekend. The CEO later said, “I’d rather meet with someone who already made my life easier.” Six weeks later, he signed a pilot deal. Patiently ascending the Pyramid of Influence—by helping Linda first—won Sophia the introduction and the deal.

Research in Social Networks theory shows that individuals who maintain strong ties with gatekeepers and weak ties with decision-makers gain unique access to novel information. By investing time and value upstream, Sophia connected more effectively downstream. It’s not magic—it’s strategy.

You can try this tomorrow. Pick one decision-maker you need to meet. Find their key staff on LinkedIn. Send them a quick, thoughtful note or resource that meets their own priorities—an interesting report or a headshot, for example. Ask if you can pencil in a quick prep call before formally requesting the boss’s time. When you get that intro, follow up with genuine gratitude. Before long, you’ll move up the influence ladder with far less friction.