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The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations Kindle Edition
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What’s the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, Craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and women’s rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? How could winning a Supreme Court case be the biggest mistake MGM could have made?
After five years of ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom share some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional “spiders,” which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary “starfish,” which rely on the power of peer relationships.
The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders (such as the music industry vs. Napster, Kazaa, and the P2P services that followed). It reveals how established companies and institutions, from IBM to Intuit to the US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:
* How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 years
* The power of a simple circle
* The importance of catalysts who have an uncanny ability to bring people together
* How the Internet has become a breeding ground for leaderless organizations
* How Alcoholics Anonymous has reached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leader
The Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change how you understand the world around you.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherPortfolio
- Publication dateOctober 5, 2006
- Reading age18 years and up
- File size872 KB
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“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'salso 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
From the Back Cover
"The Starfish and the Spider is a compelling and important book, rich with examples of how decentralization is fundamental to what I call the 'right environment'--one that promotes equal access, rich connections and 'skin in the game' for participants."
--Pierre Omidyar CEO, Omidyar Network; 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! It's a quick read, but a profound one. Every CEO should think about what aspects of catalyst leadership they embody, or can embody, for the good of their company."
--Robin Wolaner, author of 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, Former Co-CEO of Time-Warner
"A must read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling."
--David Martin, CEO of YPO International
"Starfish provides a powerful perceptual prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems."
--Steve Jurvetson, Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
"Starfish 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 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."
--Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, Davos
"Starfish challenges the command and control economy with the power of participatory consumers. From eBay to Google, Skype to Craig's List, inspired individuals are catalyzing a marked shift from hierarchies to the wisdom of crowds. Ori and Rod provide sharp insights into how to avoid becoming the next victim of this market populism; or if you are so inclined, the strategies to take on those vulnerable incumbents."
--Randy Komisar, Author, Stanford Professor, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers Partner
"I just read The Starfish and the Spider a second time. I am writing a Board paper asking my Board to approve a completely new top management structure. I have borrowed heavily from your thoughts, and feel even in an age-old bricks and mortar industry, we can apply some of the leaderless organization rules to grow faster and be significant to our members and our communities."
--Pradeep Paunrana, CEO, Athi River Mining, Ltd., publicly listed Kenya Company
"It is my pleasure to endorse The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. Reading The Starfish and the Spider is like jumping into the minds of two visionaries who can see possibilities for our world that others can not hope to even imagine. But the great thrill of this book is that these two authors are visionaries who have already achieved extraordinary accomplishments in this world - they know how to make visions incarnate. That's why you need to read this book. They see the world the way it can be."
--Caroline Myss, Author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Sacred Contracts
"In addition to being highly readable and highly entertaining, Beckstrom and Brafman make a strong case for the leaderless organization, an approach that is too often unappreciated in today's world."
--Robert Leaf, Former Chairman, Burson Marsteller International
"The Starfish and the Spider is an intelligent and compellingly written exposition of the importance of decentralization in our lives, culture and economy. The authors' weaving of neurochemistry with economics sociology and psychology entertained and educated me and will do the same for anyone who wants to learn."
--Frederic Luskin, Ph.D. Director Stanford Forgiveness Projects... Author Forgive for Good
"Starfish represents an important framework for understanding and mastering distributed leadership."
--David Whorton, Managing Director, Tugboat Ventures
"How do you *think* about running your organization in a world where customers openly share their opinions of your business without you controlling the dialog? Is your mentality starfish or spider driven? Read about insightful examples and consequences of paths companies, governments, and social groups have pursued."
--Edward A. Smith, VP of Marketing, Clickshift
"Before I read The Starfish and The Spider, I often felt like I was bobbing alone in a sea of old ideas in how I chose to manifest and guide an organization or project. Now my instincts are affirmed and I go forth with greater insight, confidence and words to articulate my ideas. And of course, I am on the lookout for other starfish."
--Kimberly Carlisle, The Carlisle Enterprise and The Flag Foundation
"This book explains clearly and simply the power of decentralized organization. If decentralized organization sounds like an oxymoron, read on! This is a powerful new organizational model and Brafman and Beckstrom demonstrate how and why it is taking industries by storm."
--Steve Farrell, Former CEO, Enterprise Networking Systems Inc.
"This is one of those books that is so striking, that I keep bringing it up in conversations. As the head of an international nonprofit, the insights into non-hierarchical organizations are not just valuable, they're essential to our work in the future."
--Jim Fruchterman CEO, Benetech
"I'd suggest adding to the list the upcoming The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations, by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. It's another great look at how we can often be more effective by subverting hierarchy rather than following it."
--Scott Allen The Ubiquitous Librarian *Blog
"I actually finished it within 48 hours of receiving it, but wanted to re-read and think about it more...it is amazing and continues to give me much to consider - something happens every other day that makes me think about the concepts. Bravo!"
--Jessica Flannery, Co-founder Kiva.org
About the Author
Rod A. Beckstrom is a serial start-up entrepreneur. He founded CATS Software Inc, which he took public and has helped start and build other high tech firms. Rod has served on various private and nonprofit boards. He holds a BA and MBA from Stanford and is a Fulbright Scholar.
Product details
- ASIN : B000S1LU3M
- Publisher : Portfolio (October 5, 2006)
- Publication date : October 5, 2006
- Language : English
- File size : 872 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 239 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #545,047 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #309 in Workplace Behavior
- #341 in Sociology of Social Theory
- #1,525 in Workplace Culture (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Ori Brafman is a multiple New York Times bestselling author, researcher, and entrepreneur. His upcoming book, Radical Inclusion: What the Post-9/11 World Should Have Taught Us About Leadership, co-authored by 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, GEN(R) Martin Dempsey, argues that today’s leaders are in competition for the trust and confidence of those they lead more than ever before. Bringing examples from business, academia, government, and the military, Brafman and Dempsey assert that the nature of power is changing and should not be measured by degree of control alone.
The White House, the world’s largest organization for financial professionals, and the Chicago Bulls alike turn to Brafman when focusing on organizational culture change, increased employee engagement, business transformations, leadership development, and adjusting to emerging technologies. He has advised all branches of the U.S. military, the Obama White House, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, NATO, and YPO, among others. His media appearances include the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC News, BBC, National Public Radio, CNBC, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Fox News, C-SPAN, and AP Video.
Brafman is founder and president of Starfish Leadership and co-founder of the Fully Charged Institute, which combines his work with that of Tom Rath. Brafman is a Distinguished Teaching Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business focusing on improvisational leadership, data science, and artificial intelligence and a Senior Fellow at the Coach K Leadership & Ethics Center at Duke University.
Rod A. Beckstrom is a former CEO, who founded CATS Software Inc, which he took public. Since his "retirement," Rod has served on various private and nonprofit boards. He holds a BA and MBA from Stanford and was a Fulbright Scholar.
Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more
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In 2005, MGM sued Grokster because it allowed the sharing of music and movies over the Internet. Five years earlier, Napster was sued for allowing file sharing. The recording industry went after the people who were swapping the music as well. But this did not prevent the problem of music piracy. The harder they fought, the stronger the opposition grew. The best explanation for these events comes from a book by Tom Nevins about the Apaches.
Spanish explorer Cortes fought the Aztec, who had a central government, and took their gold; killed their leader; and starved the city's inhabitants. Two years later the entire Aztec empire had collapsed. The same fate befell the Incas. But they lost against the Apaches. It was all about the way the Apaches were organized as a society. The Apaches distributed political power and had very little centralization. They persevered because they were decentralized. A centralized organization has a clear leader who's in charge. In a decentralized system there's no clear leader and no hierarchy. The power is distributed among all the people and across geographic regions. Instead of a chief, the Apaches had a Nant'an--a spiritual and cultural leader who led by example. As soon as the Spaniards killed a Nant'an, a new one would emerge. No one person was essential to the overall well-being of Apache society. When attacked, a decentralized organization tends to become even more open and decentralized. Every time the labels sue a Napster, a new player comes onto the scene that's even more decentralized and more difficult to battle. The harder you fight a decentralized opponent, the stronger it gets.
Some examples of starfish organizations:
(a) The Internet is a decentralized starfish network where no one is in charge. Spider organizations have structures, hierarchies, and a president.
(b) At Alcoholics Anonymous, no one is in charge. If you were to ask how many members or chapters it has, there'd be no way to tell because it is an open system. An open system doesn't have centralized intelligence; the intelligence is spread throughout the system. Spider organizations weave their webs over long periods of time, but the starfish can take over an entire industry in the blink of an eye.
(c) Craigslist attracts three billion page views a month. The way craigslist runs is that people who use it post, and if they find something inappropriate they flag it for approval. So the people who use the site run it. It allows users to interact with each other directly without anybody telling anybody else what they can and cannot do. In an open system, what matters most isn't the CEO, but whether the leadership is trusting enough of members to leave them alone.
(d) The first popular browser for surfing the Web came from the University of Illinois. But the University did not respond when engineers sent patches to be integrated, so they decided to post the patches on their own and called the project Apache. The software was completely open-source, and Apache quickly became the industry standard, with 67 percent of websites running on it.
(e) Wikipedia allows website users to easily edit, police, and contribute the content of the site themselves. Put people into an open system and they'll automatically want to contribute! When you give people freedom you get incredible creativity and a variety of expressions.
Differences between Spider organizations and starfish organizations:
(a) Most centralized organizations are divided into departments. If a spider loses a leg, its mobility is significantly affected. Units of a decentralized organization are completely autonomous. Cut off a unit and, like a starfish, the organization does just fine.
(b) In spider companies, power is concentrated at the top. In starfish organizations, power is spread throughout.
(c) Decentralized organizations are fluid. Centralized organizations depend more on rigid structure. It is possible to count the members of any spider organization, but members of starfish organizations are impossible to count because anyone can become a member.
(d) Information in centralized organizations is processed through headquarters. In open systems, communication occurs directly between members.
(e) In decentralized organizations, the founder plays the role of a catalyst. He would lead by example, but he never forces his views on others. A catalyst gets the decentralized organization going and then cedes control to the members.
Strategies to combat a starfish invasion:
(a) Ideology, the shared philosophy among members, is the glue that holds decentralized organizations together. If the ideology can be successfully changed, the results are detrimental.
(b) The Apaches remained a significant threat until the Americans prevailed by giving the Nant'ans cattle. Once people gain a right to property they quickly seek out a centralized system to protect their interests. The moment you introduce property rights, the starfish organization turns into a spider.
(c) If you can't beat them, join them. The best opponent for a starfish organization is another starfish.
This is by far the best business management book I have read this year!
To explain further, a spider has a centralised nervous system, so that, if it loses a leg, the handicap will remain, whereas the starfish has a decentralised nervous system, so that walking requires a peer-to-peer communication between the legs, and if one limb is cut off, the body will grow another, and the leg will grow a complete body.
The starfish thus symbolises peer-to-peer human networks through which flows an inspirational ideal in accordance with which individuals tend to act voluntarily. The book described the Apache Native American tribe, which had no central organisation, but defeated the Spanish colonists because the Apaches had no central figures or infrastructure to capture, and their will to fight was shared culturally without coercion. Thus, individuals sprang up in response to Spanish outrages, and inspired others to fight locally, thus always maintaining the element of surprise.
The principle of voluntary organisation within a human network is now becoming more familiar in fields such as politics, and in modern technology. The large, rigid, hierarchies that dominated early capitalism are now fading away, and being replaced by groups of individuals in peer-to-peer networking.
The book describes many, many examples of “starfish” organisations that defeated government regulations, or large industrial organisations, but rather than quoting examples, I will list some of the “rules of the game” that typify leaderless organisations.
Rule 1. Dis-economies of scale (Skype v. ATT).
Rule 2. The network effect. It used to cost millions to create a significant network effect, for many starfish organisations, the cost has gone down to zero. eBay is an example.
Rule 3. The power of chaos. Starfish organisations are wonderful incubators for creative, destructive, innovations, or crazy ideas. Where creativity is valuable, learning to accept chaos is a must.
Rule 4, Knowledge at the edge. In starfish organisations, knowledge is spread throughout the staff. People on the front line know what’s going on. Open source software and Wikipedia are examples.
Rule 5. Everyone wants to contribute. People contribute to Wikipedia, and to Intuit’s TaxAlmanac.org. Users contribute reviews to Amazon, and engineers stay up at night writing code free for Apache server software.
Rule 6. Beware the hydra response from Greek mythology, in which beheading the hydra caused it to immediately grow two new heads. The starfish has similar power, because there is no head to cut off, and each cut limb regrows. The Spanish learned the hard way, fighting the Apaches. When the record companies destroyed Napster, it was replaced by Kazaa and eMule that were more decentralised and difficult to defeat.
Rule 7. Catalysts rule. Starfish have no CEO. Instead, people known as ‘catalysts’ initiate and persuade only. When the Spanish fought the Apaches, they looked for a leader such as Montezuma to kill, but found only independent individuals called ‘Nant’ans’, who inspired local attacks then disappeared. Mary Poppins similarly disappeared after serving each family in the Hollywood movie.
Rule 8. The values are the organisation. Ideology is the fuel that drives the decentralised organisation. The Animals Liberation Front, (ALF), is so decentralised that it is hard to fight legally. Granville Sharp helped abolish slavery through inspiration alone, although we forget his name, because he was not a public leader. The peer-to-peer organisation called ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ has achieved worldwide success, without any central organisation at all.
Rule 9. Measure, monitor and manage. When measuring a starfish organisation, it’s better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong. When we monitor a starfish organisation, we ask about its health, whether it’s growing or spreading, becoming more or less centralised. Catalysts connect people and maintain the drumbeat of the ideology.
Rule 10. Flatten or be flattened. We can fight a starfish by changing an ideology or centralising its organisation. But it may be easier to join them if you cannot beat them. Some modern organisations are hybrids, making a profit in the centralised part, and operating more effectively in the decentralised part.
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2018
To explain further, a spider has a centralised nervous system, so that, if it loses a leg, the handicap will remain, whereas the starfish has a decentralised nervous system, so that walking requires a peer-to-peer communication between the legs, and if one limb is cut off, the body will grow another, and the leg will grow a complete body.
The starfish thus symbolises peer-to-peer human networks through which flows an inspirational ideal in accordance with which individuals tend to act voluntarily. The book described the Apache Native American tribe, which had no central organisation, but defeated the Spanish colonists because the Apaches had no central figures or infrastructure to capture, and their will to fight was shared culturally without coercion. Thus, individuals sprang up in response to Spanish outrages, and inspired others to fight locally, thus always maintaining the element of surprise.
The principle of voluntary organisation within a human network is now becoming more familiar in fields such as politics, and in modern technology. The large, rigid, hierarchies that dominated early capitalism are now fading away, and being replaced by groups of individuals in peer-to-peer networking.
The book describes many, many examples of “starfish” organisations that defeated government regulations, or large industrial organisations, but rather than quoting examples, I will list some of the “rules of the game” that typify leaderless organisations.
Rule 1. Dis-economies of scale (Skype v. ATT).
Rule 2. The network effect. It used to cost millions to create a significant network effect, for many starfish organisations, the cost has gone down to zero. eBay is an example.
Rule 3. The power of chaos. Starfish organisations are wonderful incubators for creative, destructive, innovations, or crazy ideas. Where creativity is valuable, learning to accept chaos is a must.
Rule 4, Knowledge at the edge. In starfish organisations, knowledge is spread throughout the staff. People on the front line know what’s going on. Open source software and Wikipedia are examples.
Rule 5. Everyone wants to contribute. People contribute to Wikipedia, and to Intuit’s TaxAlmanac.org. Users contribute reviews to Amazon, and engineers stay up at night writing code free for Apache server software.
Rule 6. Beware the hydra response from Greek mythology, in which beheading the hydra caused it to immediately grow two new heads. The starfish has similar power, because there is no head to cut off, and each cut limb regrows. The Spanish learned the hard way, fighting the Apaches. When the record companies destroyed Napster, it was replaced by Kazaa and eMule that were more decentralised and difficult to defeat.
Rule 7. Catalysts rule. Starfish have no CEO. Instead, people known as ‘catalysts’ initiate and persuade only. When the Spanish fought the Apaches, they looked for a leader such as Montezuma to kill, but found only independent individuals called ‘Nant’ans’, who inspired local attacks then disappeared. Mary Poppins similarly disappeared after serving each family in the Hollywood movie.
Rule 8. The values are the organisation. Ideology is the fuel that drives the decentralised organisation. The Animals Liberation Front, (ALF), is so decentralised that it is hard to fight legally. Granville Sharp helped abolish slavery through inspiration alone, although we forget his name, because he was not a public leader. The peer-to-peer organisation called ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ has achieved worldwide success, without any central organisation at all.
Rule 9. Measure, monitor and manage. When measuring a starfish organisation, it’s better to be vaguely right than precisely wrong. When we monitor a starfish organisation, we ask about its health, whether it’s growing or spreading, becoming more or less centralised. Catalysts connect people and maintain the drumbeat of the ideology.
Rule 10. Flatten or be flattened. We can fight a starfish by changing an ideology or centralising its organisation. But it may be easier to join them if you cannot beat them. Some modern organisations are hybrids, making a profit in the centralised part, and operating more effectively in the decentralised part.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in Italy on September 8, 2018