Brafman and Beckstrom, a pair of Stanford M.B.A.s who have applied their business know-how to promoting peace and economic development through decentralized networking, offer 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). The authors also analyze one of today’s most worrisome “starfish” organizations—al-Qaeda—though that group undermines the authors’ point that the power of leaderless groups helps to demonstrate the essential goodness and trustworthiness of human beings. (Oct. 5)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
–This text refers to the

Hardcover
edition.

“One of those delightful business books that transcend the genre”
—Boston Globe

“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!”
—Robin Wolaner, author of Naked in the Boardroom

“A must read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling.”
—J. David Martin, CEO of YPO International

This digital document is an article from Units, published by National Apartment Association on October 1, 2009. The length of the article is 313 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The messiest, greatest apartment-hunting site?(CRAIGSLIST)
Author: Unavailable
Publication: Units (Magazine/Journal)
Date: October 1, 2009
Publisher: National Apartment Association
Volume: 33 Issue: 10 Page: 16(1)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning

IF YOU REALLY want to see a mess, go visit the nation’s greatest apartment-hunting site, the first likely choice of anybody searching for a rental or a roommate. On this site, contrary to every principle of usability and common sense, you can’t easily browse pictures of the apartments for rent. Customer support? Visit the help desk if you enjoy being insulted. How much market share does this housing site have? In many cities, it’s a huge percentage. It isn’t worth trying to compare its traffic to competitors’, because at this scale there are no competitors.

This digital document is an article from Computer User, published by MSP Communications on November 1, 2004. The length of the article is 1128 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Making the list: interview: Craig Newmark and Jim Buckmaster of craigslist.(INTERVIEW)(Interview)
Author: Elizabeth Millard
Publication: Computer User (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2004
Publisher: MSP Communications
Volume: 22 Issue: 11 Page: 24(1)

Article Type: Interview

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Earn Hundreds Of Dollars “Consistently” Day-After-Day… By Following The Instructions That Will See You Become A Fully-Equipped Craigslist Guru!