- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover; 1 edition (Oct 10 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1591841437
- ISBN-13: 978-1591841432
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.1 x 2.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #82,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Brafman and Beckstrom, a pair of Stanford M.B.A.s who have applied their business know-how to promoting peace and economic development through decentralized networking, offer a breezy and entertaining look at how decentralization is changing many organizations. The title metaphor conveys the core concept: though a starfish and a spider have similar shapes, their internal structure is dramatically different—a decapitated spider inevitably dies, while a starfish can regenerate itself from a single amputated leg. In the same way, decentralized organizations, like the Internet, the Apache Indian tribe and Alcoholics Anonymous, are made up of many smaller units capable of operating, growing and multiplying independently of each other, making it very difficult for a rival force to control or defeat them. Despite familiar examples—eBay, Napster and the Toyota assembly line, for example—there are fresh insights, such as the authors' three techniques for combating a decentralized competitor (drive change in your competitors' ideology, force them to become centralized or decentralize yourself). The authors also analyze one of today's most worrisome "starfish" organizations—al-Qaeda—though that group undermines the authors' point that the power of leaderless groups helps to demonstrate the essential goodness and trustworthiness of human beings. (Oct. 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“The Starfish and the Spider is a compelling and important book.” —Pierre Omidyar, CEO, Omidyar Network and Founder and Chairman, eBay Inc.
“The Starfish and the Spider, like Blink, The Tipping Point, and The Wisdom of Crowds before it, showed me a provocative new way to look at the world and at business. It's
also fun to read!” —Robin Wolaner, founder, Parenting Magazine and author, Naked in the Boardroom
“A fantastic read. Constantly weaving stories and connections. You'll never see the world the same way again.” —Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., former Co-CEO, Time Warner
“A must-read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling.” —David Martin, CEO, Young Presidents' Organization
“The Starfish and the Spider provides a powerful prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems.” —Steve Jurvetson, Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
“The Starfish and the Spider lifts the lid on a massive revolution in the making, a revolution certain to reshape every organization on the planet from bridge clubs to global governments. Brafman and Beckstrom elegantly describe what is afoot and offer a wealth of insights that will be invaluable to anyone starting something new—or rescuing something old—amidst this vast shift.” —Paul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future
“The Starfish and the Spider is great reading. [It has] not only stimulated my thinking, but as a result of the reading, I proposed ten action points for my own organization."
—Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
“The Starfish and the Spider, like Blink, The Tipping Point, and The Wisdom of Crowds before it, showed me a provocative new way to look at the world and at business. It's
also fun to read!” —Robin Wolaner, founder, Parenting Magazine and author, Naked in the Boardroom
“A fantastic read. Constantly weaving stories and connections. You'll never see the world the same way again.” —Nicholas J. Nicholas Jr., former Co-CEO, Time Warner
“A must-read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling.” —David Martin, CEO, Young Presidents' Organization
“The Starfish and the Spider provides a powerful prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems.” —Steve Jurvetson, Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
“The Starfish and the Spider lifts the lid on a massive revolution in the making, a revolution certain to reshape every organization on the planet from bridge clubs to global governments. Brafman and Beckstrom elegantly describe what is afoot and offer a wealth of insights that will be invaluable to anyone starting something new—or rescuing something old—amidst this vast shift.” —Paul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future
“The Starfish and the Spider is great reading. [It has] not only stimulated my thinking, but as a result of the reading, I proposed ten action points for my own organization."
—Professor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
I hate to say it - not worth buying,
By
This review is from: The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Hardcover)
I was quite eager to read "The Starfish and the Spider" given some great recommendations from others. However, once i purchased it and dove into it I was unfortunately disappointed. Despite having a high readability and ease (a credit to the work) I found the actual content of this book simplistic and repetitive.The authors make some interesting connections between the nature of starfish, spiders, apache indians, some innovative dot.com companies but they generally dip into the same well's too often. Frequently citing the same handful of companies and metaphors, what begins as an insightful read becomes laborious. In addition to the several references to Craigslist, Wikipedia and other companies, they invest a significant amount of writing about catalyst - a concept (though worded differently) is more aptly handled by Malcolm Gladwell in "The Tipping Point". Ultimately, a 30 minute internet search regarding this book (and it's concepts) would provide an interested reader with exactly the same insights and material as they would purchasing the book. My advice: check it out from the library or google: starfish spider reviews.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, but some interesting points raised,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (Hardcover)
The biggest problem I had with the book was inconsitency of thoughts. They tried to apply the concept of starfish or high decentralization to everything from eMule to GM, from Internet based networks to large business. There is also confusing and somehow upsetting mixing of social movement initiatives that defy some sort of authorities and organizations where everything is about money and profits. Overall, most confusing.The fact that decentralization and delegation of power always induces creativity and commitment is well known to anybody interested in management or just represents a common sense. Yet, there is that new phenomenon of possibility of large networks not bound by space that errupted because of Internet. That creates all host of new opportunities and completely changes the game if Internet can be involved in any way. That is very interesting and thought provoking. If it taken as some complementary reading for people interested in the topics of organizational effectiveness, it can be OK. Yet, I don't even understand how new these ideas are, probably not that new. But if you hope to discover some ultimate wisdom how to run organization - you will be wasting your time. It is way more complex than such superficial glance.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Intreresting Book,
By
This review is from: Starfish And The Spider (Paperback)
This is a very interesting explanation for those of us who where born yesterday of what is happening in today's world of business.
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