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The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable…
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The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations (edition 2008)

by Ori Brafman, Rod A. Beckstrom

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,0251819,929 (3.77)7
Great, quick read with useful examples of how centralized, command and control organizations can fail by assuming that engagement with distributed (or "cloud-based") entities can follow the same rules as engagement with other command and control organizations. I have cited this book frequently in recent presentations. ( )
  beaurichly | Feb 20, 2012 |
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Here's what I wrote in 2009 about this read: "Business book about the power of decentralized organizations, and tips for leveraging elements within business and other centralized organizations ("hybrid model", "sweet spot"). Simple, straigthforward read." ( )
  MGADMJK | Jul 31, 2023 |

Is an organization more like a starfish or a spider? I like the book a lot though it seemed to dwell on the same points a lot. ( )
  wellington299 | Feb 19, 2022 |
This one needs to be read, not heard as audiobook.
  patl | Feb 18, 2019 |
i think i read this book a few years too late. much of it seemed self-evident. that said, it is a light, fast read and worth the time just for the thought exercises it provokes. ( )
  burningdervish | Nov 29, 2016 |
A very easy, smooth read. Recommended reading for defense and homeland security specialists. The principles discussed are sound and explained in a way that are easy to understand.
  gslim96 | Jan 25, 2015 |
Great, quick read with useful examples of how centralized, command and control organizations can fail by assuming that engagement with distributed (or "cloud-based") entities can follow the same rules as engagement with other command and control organizations. I have cited this book frequently in recent presentations. ( )
  beaurichly | Feb 20, 2012 |
This is 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). ( )
  jwhenderson | Mar 18, 2011 |
A really interesting read on organizational structure and leadership. Traditional organizations are often hierarchical and authoritarian. Like spiders, if you cut off a leg (or department), it's weakened; if you cut off it's head (leader/board), and it's dead. Other organizations, however, resemble a starfish, which reproduce a new leg when one is severed (and in fact the severed leg becomes a new starfish!). These organizations are decentralized. Rather than organized around structural authority, starfish organizations share a common ideology and a common DNA (core values) which reproduce along relational networks and is often the work of a catalyst - a movement maker who gets things started, and then gets out of the way, rejecting any authoritarian role. A lot of interesting examples here. If you're interested in leadership and organizational life, it's a fascinating read. My grade: A ( )
  bsanner | Jan 17, 2011 |
A thoroughly enjoyable introduction to decentralized networks versus traditional command-and-control organizations. ( )
  RobinJacksonPearson | Jul 24, 2010 |
This is a fascinating concept ... how the hierarchy and organisational structure of organisations is adapting for the modern world. I wanted to 'read' it for research for my role as Project Coordinator and the quickest way to get a copy was as an audio book - not sure I really like Audio books, since I think my mind tends to wander and not fully listen - so I have to listen several times. On the otherhand I am free to take notes (mindmap) as I listen.

The examples given in this book are easy to see the theory in and made it easy for me to translate that to shaping the organisation of the project team I lead (a temporary post) into a starfish style.

Whether you want to understand the particular organisations quoted, leadership and organisational structure in general or have a specific company in mind to apply the theory to it is an interesting read and not a dry management book. ( )
  wungu | Apr 11, 2010 |
An accessible book that provides a good layman's vocabulary for discussing the strengths and weaknesses of both centralized and decentralized organizations. The authors do a good job, also, in identifying the components that make up a successful decentralized, "starfish" organization. Numerous examples in each chapter help to make the ideas concrete and memorable. ( )
  maskedmallard | Dec 12, 2009 |
One of the most stimulating, encouraging, refreshing books I've read in years! Anyone who's fed up with leadership theory (or ought to be) can profit from reading this. And anyone who can appreciate chaos, creativity and decentralization will absolutely love it! ( )
  thomasbaldur | Sep 18, 2009 |
Easy reading and enjoyable. This page turner brings a very good and new analogy to management, spiders and starfish for centralized and decentralized organizations. The power of decentralization is brought forward with good examples, but I found it a little shallow. You end the book feeling there's so much more to the theme and the book doesn't touch most of it. That said I still recommend reading it. ( )
  dsheise | Jul 10, 2008 |
Mildly interesting. It's been compared to The Tipping Point, but I didn't have any big "aha" moments like I did with The Tipping Point. They gave lots of examples of successful decentralized organizations. And they did try to summarize the qualities those successful groups had. But that part was pretty short--I wanted more of that. I didn't get a lot out of the book that I feel like I can apply in real life. Whereas The Tipping Point helped me to start making connections about how to create tipping points for things I care about. If you're looking for practical advice on how to encourage a decentralized community feel in an organization, this book doesn't have much to offer. ( )
  kellyholmes | May 16, 2008 |
This book is awesome. I think they are coming out with another book in 2008. The chapter on the hybrid organization was especially helpful and added a well rounded dimension to the book. ( )
  tcatchim | Oct 22, 2007 |
This book totally rocks my world! ( )
  hogan1040 | Sep 28, 2007 |
My name is David Marquet, from Practicum, Inc and we help our customers achieve organizational success by getting each person to act as a leader.

Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom’s book, The Starfish and the Spider, is a compelling description of the strengths and weaknesses of decentralized (the starfish) and centralized (the spider) organizations. Many of the examples of decentralized organizations are recent, such as Craigslist, Napster, Wikipedia, and Skype. They also contrast the decentralized Apaches against the centralized Spanish Army, illustrating that decentralized organizations are not new.

The authors explain that we are in the midst of a revolution where the absence of the traditional leadership model results in organizations without hierarchy. Through their examples, they demonstrate that while you’d think chaos and disorder would be the result, these groups can be tremendously effective.

The authors find biological evidence that supports this result. MIT scientist Jerry Lettvin conducted an experiment which attempted to locate the unique brain cell that housed a specific memory. He couldn’t find it. Turns out, the brain itself is a decentralized organ. This means that there is no one cell that houses the memory of grandmother. That would be a fragile architecture as injury to that cell would wipe her out of our memory. Instead, the memory of grandmother lives in a rich pattern of cells. This is a more resilient architecture.

We like their thesis and telling of the story. It is consistent with our findings. We frequently get asked, if the leader does not lead the people, who does? Our answer is that people lead themselves.
In only one area would I describe these decentralized organizations differently than Brafman and Beckstrom and this is a quibble. They claim these are organizations without leaders. We describe these as organizations where everyone is a leader. In any event, they are organizations where there are no followers! ( )
1 vote | ldmarquet | Jul 7, 2010 |
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