The Starfish and the Spider – Book Report
Stephen J. Reen
Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus
The Starfish and the Spider – Book Report
In 2006, Brafman and Beckstrom set out to answer a question: “What do an encyclopedia, a piece of software, a phone company, classified ads, and naked people in the Nevada desert have in common?” (p. 59). Their resulting book, “The Starfish and the Spider”, describes how Wikipedia, Napster, Skype, Craigslist.com and the annual Nevada party/utopia known as “Burning Man” operate in completely different ways compared to other organizations, and how these units – known as “decentralized organizations” – have so much success and influence. In this essay, I give a summary of Brafman and Beckstrom’s …show more content…
To better explain its concepts, “The Starfish and the Spider” focuses on what decentralized organizations throughout history have in common, and only briefly touches on what makes them different. Further research could categorize each decentralized organization active today and explain what sets them apart from each other. For instance, are “starfish” organizations on the Internet more decentralized than ones face-to-face? Do “catalysts” – that is, people who first champion an idea and initiate decentralized organizations – work faster on the Internet than face-to-face? Can they be more effective in converting people to their “starfish” cause with channel-rich media such as a face-to-face conversation, or can they be more effective with constant updates through a channel-lean …show more content…
Its authors repeatedly implore the music industry to explore new options for combating illegal online music sharing. Researchers can investigate whether Brafman and Beckstrom’s findings have influenced record labels’ tactics, and if so, what those tactics are. “The Starfish and the Spider” gives no specific strategies for the record labels; it only exposes the problem. A review and critique of current strategies would be helpful.
Conclusion
To conclude, I found “The Starfish and The Spider” by Brafman and Beckstrom to be an engaging and relevant book, with applications for all areas of business. The authors explain how decentralized organizations – organizations without a “leader”, in the traditional sense – draw their power from ideals and shared passion, not from the orders of a commander. This makes them, more resilient, adaptable and creative than anyone might expect. Brafman and Beckstrom explain how people are not used to confronting so-called “starfish” organizations, and how quickly one of these organizations can topple an industry.
Reference
Brafman, O., & Beckstrom, R. A. (2006). The starfish and the spider: The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations. New York, NY:
Stephen J. Reen
Indiana University – Purdue University Columbus
The Starfish and the Spider – Book Report
In 2006, Brafman and Beckstrom set out to answer a question: “What do an encyclopedia, a piece of software, a phone company, classified ads, and naked people in the Nevada desert have in common?” (p. 59). Their resulting book, “The Starfish and the Spider”, describes how Wikipedia, Napster, Skype, Craigslist.com and the annual Nevada party/utopia known as “Burning Man” operate in completely different ways compared to other organizations, and how these units – known as “decentralized organizations” – have so much success and influence. In this essay, I give a summary of Brafman and Beckstrom’s …show more content…
To better explain its concepts, “The Starfish and the Spider” focuses on what decentralized organizations throughout history have in common, and only briefly touches on what makes them different. Further research could categorize each decentralized organization active today and explain what sets them apart from each other. For instance, are “starfish” organizations on the Internet more decentralized than ones face-to-face? Do “catalysts” – that is, people who first champion an idea and initiate decentralized organizations – work faster on the Internet than face-to-face? Can they be more effective in converting people to their “starfish” cause with channel-rich media such as a face-to-face conversation, or can they be more effective with constant updates through a channel-lean …show more content…
Its authors repeatedly implore the music industry to explore new options for combating illegal online music sharing. Researchers can investigate whether Brafman and Beckstrom’s findings have influenced record labels’ tactics, and if so, what those tactics are. “The Starfish and the Spider” gives no specific strategies for the record labels; it only exposes the problem. A review and critique of current strategies would be helpful.
Conclusion
To conclude, I found “The Starfish and The Spider” by Brafman and Beckstrom to be an engaging and relevant book, with applications for all areas of business. The authors explain how decentralized organizations – organizations without a “leader”, in the traditional sense – draw their power from ideals and shared passion, not from the orders of a commander. This makes them, more resilient, adaptable and creative than anyone might expect. Brafman and Beckstrom explain how people are not used to confronting so-called “starfish” organizations, and how quickly one of these organizations can topple an industry.
Reference
Brafman, O., & Beckstrom, R. A. (2006). The starfish and the spider: The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations. New York, NY: