The Starfish and the Spider

The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

By: Ori Brafman, Rod Beckstrom

Narrated by: Sean Pratt

If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg, it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

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 U.S. government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. This audiobook 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 that rare book that will change how you understand the world around you.©2006 Decentralized Revolutions, LLC (P)2007 Gildan Media Corp

the person reading this was amazing.

the narrator of this book is really good and made the book much more interesting to listen to. I would honestly look into what else he has taped because it was much more interesting with his ability.

Great Read!

I really enjoyed this book, it will definately help me in my every day work!

Decent but no banana

Narrator was clear and easy listening. Struggled to finish due to content. Book did not hold my attention.

Leaderless organizations

Quite an incredible read with lots of practical visible illustrations. The book discusses concepts that appear too obvious yet often poorly understood, much less appreciated by casual observers. The world needs more leaderless movements for greater rapid empowerment of the world population.

Brilliant and insightful

I read this book a few years back and it blew my mind about the insights of a centralized vs decentralized organization. highly recommended to anyone involved in movements, military, or some type of decentralized organization.

Meh.

The authors describe an interesting phenomenon; but as another reviewer noted, it could have used some more aggressive editing. It doesn't come across as being exceptionally well-researched or authoritative.

Great for Leadership

Organizational leadership must listen to or read this book. The concepts take an educated open-minded individual.

under developed

The narrator was good, but the argument presented was incomplete. The book touts the benefits of decentralization while admonishing central control for most of it's content, but then just before the end brings up some exceedingly successful organizations that integrate both management philosophies.

I would have appreciated a more in depth view of both the advantages and disadvantages of centralization and decentralization with a discussion of the historical backdrop (i.e. how did we get to centralized control in the 20th century from decentralized nomadic tribes and what factors contribute to decentralization becoming more common now). This framework would have better facilitated a final chapter on how to best combine the features of both structures and lead to a more complete argument.

IMA Catalyst

Great and insightful book! I could immediately apply the valuable information in this book to my work life, and career—I now know that I am a “catalyst,” and that insight by itself makes this book extraordinary. The story lays out a construct that feels a bit like a long road through the desert connecting the cities of Past, Present and Future. The ride (read) is fast; you can feel the heat and the wind blow through your hair, so to speak, as you read. Once you pull off the road, you cannot help but notice the vast amount of ground covered on this journey. If you ever thought “one man cannot make a meaningful difference in the world,” then this book will not only convince you differently, it will prove it!

Eye- opening for small nonprofits

Talk about a book filled with "food for thought"! This book reinforced many things we're doing, and encouraged us to push things even further. Really worth the read.