November Read

Title: The starfish and the Spider

Author(s): Brafman, Ori; Beckstrom, Rod A.

Call Number: 302.35 B812S 2006

Subjects: Decentralization in Management; Organizational Behavior; Success in Business

Numbers of Page: 230

ISBN: 9781591841432

Book Description:

            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 groundbreaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod A. 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. Find out:

-How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for two hundred 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 reaches untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leader.

            The Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change the way you understand the world around you.

My Read:

            A starfish stands on 5 legs. In this book the five legs are: circles, the catalyst, ideology, the preexisting network, the champion. Circles work because, instead of rules, they depend on norms. As I surfed through the pages, I got a feeling that norms are like mutual, silent consent. Members of a circle they support and trust each other. The circles are formed because members believe what they attend to and have faith in not only their members but themselves. No need of a leader in a circle for the force and power of a circle come from the members, the group of people share similar faith and concepts.

            Because a catalyst has genuine interest in others, s/he assumes a peer relationship and listens intently. You don’t follow catalyst because you have to-you follow a catalyst because s/he understands you. (page 125). When things go personal, certain bond is created. A circle is formed by people who share and respect the ideology that brings them in from the beginning. To me, ideology serves as strong glue connecting people together; it is also the center of attention calling members to come and join.

“One is too small a number to achieve greatness.” –John Maxwell

One Chinese saying stated: One can easily break a piece of chopstick. But it would take a lot of efforts to break 10 pieces of chopsticks. If one wants to make a big difference one has to have some connections and networks to reach out to more people who are at the same page as you are. Finding and attending the preexisting network, one’s views and plans are magnified and multiplied. It’s like snowballing and the effect is bigger than one can imagine.

            Any good idea or plan is just an idea or a plan if there is no one to put it into practice and execute it with enthusiasm and passion. A champion is relentless in promoting a new idea. (page 99) Maybe catalysts are charismatic and attractive but it’s actually the champion, the passionate executor takes the idea to the next level. The pair of a catalyst and a champion is like an expert in marketing and a rainmaker in the sales department.

            As the authors said that if you cut off a spider’s head, it dies; but if you cut off a starfish’s leg, it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top-down organizations are like spiders, but now starfish organizations are changing the face of business and the world. (from inside of the book jacket)

            The world is changing and changes fast. But I got a question: how about human beings? Do we change as well so we won’t, at least, lose our directions and our minds? The concepts of combo special and the ideas of hybrid operations and organizations appeal to me. It reminds me of the image of a Tai Chi. The two colors of black and white seem in harmony. They also seem like they are dancing with each other. To me, to survive or even to thrive one has to always check one’s strategies and tactics about life. It's like we are playing a Mah Jong game. A tile would dramatically change a person's holdings and certain ways a player is playing. When environments and situations call for a change one is ready to react to the change and, better one is able to be proactive or even preactive to turn around the situations and lead the path for others to follow.