The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations | Ori Brafman, Rod A. Beckstrom | Seek not stardom, just starfishdom

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The Starfish and t...

	The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations Ori Brafman, Rod A. Beckstrom Portfolio Hardcover, 2006 - 240 pages average customer review:based on 67 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Very enjoyable read

The title of the book comes from the analogous use of the starfish and the spider. A spider has eight legs coming out of a central body. It has a tiny head and eight eyes. If you cut off the spider's head, it dies. It may survive without a leg or two or even stand to lose a couple of eyes, but it certainly can't live without its head.

On the other hand, while a starfish may appear to be similar to the central body and multiple legs of the spider, it is really quite different. The starfish doesn't have a head. Its central body isn't even in charge. In fact, the major organs are replicated throughout each and every arm. If you cut the starfish in half, the animal won't die and pretty soon you'll have two starfish.

The authors provide an entertaining description of the starfish system:

"Starfish have an incredible quality to them: If you cut an arm off, most of these animals grow a new arm. And with some varieties, such as the Linckia, or long-armed starfish, the animal can replicate itself from just a single piece of an arm. You can cut the Linckia into a bunch of pieces, and each one will regenerate into a whole new starfish. They can achieve this magical regeneration because in reality a starfish is a neural network - basically a network of cells. Instead of having a head, like a spider, the starfish functions as a decentralized network. Get this: for the starfish to move, one of the arms must convince the other arms that it's a good idea to do so. The arm starts moving and then - in a process that no one fully understands - the other arms cooperate and move as well. The brain doesn't "yea" or "nay" the decision. In truth, there isn't even a brain to declare a "yea" or "nay." The starfish doesn't have a brain. There is no central command. Biologists are still scratching their heads over how this creature operates."

With the analogy firmly in place the authors precede to illustrate the power of decentralized organizations in today's internet savvy world (using examples as varied as eBay, al Qaeda, eMule, Craigslist, AA, and Wikipedia) with those that are much more centralized. In the midst of this discussion they offer six principles of decentralization:

1. When attacked, a decentralized organization tends to become even more open and decentralized.

2. It's easy to mistake starfish for spiders.

3. An open system doesn't have central intelligence; the intelligence is spread throughout the system.

4. Open systems can easily mutate.

5. The decentralized organization sneaks up on you.

6. As industries become decentralized, overall profits decrease.

But how does one go about identifying a Starfish organization? The answer is found in asking the right questions:

1. Is there a person in charge?

2. Are there headquarters?

3. If you thump it on the head, will it die?

4. Is there a clear division of roles?

5. If you take out a unit, is the organization harmed?

6. Are knowledge & power concentrated or distributed?

7. Is the organization flexible or rigid?

8. Can you count the employees or participants?

9. Are working groupls funded by the organization, or are they self-funding?

10. Do working groups communicate directly or through intermediaries?

The authors contend that a decentralized organization stands on five legs. As with the starfish, it can lose a leg or two and still survive. But when you have all the legs working together, a decentralized organization can really take off. These "legs" include:

Leg 1. Circles. Small, nonhierarchical groups of people with each group maintaining its own particular habits and norms.

Leg 2. The Catalyst. The person who initiates a circle and then fades away into the background.

Leg 3. Ideology. The glue that holds decentralized organizations together.

Leg 4. A Preexisting Network. Infrastructure or preexisting platform to launch from.

Leg 5. A Champion. A relentless promoter of the new idea.

One of the most helpful aspects of this portion of the book comes in a chapter titled "The Hidden Power of the Catalyst." The following chart summarizes the different tools that the CEO and catalysts type of leader draws upon:

CEO vs. Catalyst

The Boss -- A Peer
Command & Control -- Trust
Powerful -- Inspirational
Directive -- Collaborative
In the Spotlight -- Behind the Scenes
Order -- Ambiguity
Organizing -- Connecting

The authors conclude this chapter by stating:

"This type of leadership isn't ideal for all situations. Catalysts are bound to rock the boat. They are much better at being agents of change than guardians of tradition. Catalysts do well in situations that call for radical change and creative thinking. They bring innovation, but they're also likely to create a certain amount of chaos and ambiguity. Put them into a structured environment, and they might suffocate. But let them dream and they'll thrive." (can anyone say "church planter")

In the final chapter the authors offer what they perceive to be the "new rules to the game" in regards to understanding and capitalizing on the power of decentralized organizations:

Rule 1: Dis-economies of Scale

Traditionally, the bigger the company or institution the greater the power. However, as counterintuitive as this sounds, it can be better to be small. . . . We have entered a new world where being small can provide a fundamental economic advantage.

Rule 2: The Network Effect

The network effect is the increase in the overall value of the network with the addition of each new member. "Often without spending a dime, starfish organizations create communities where each new member adds value to the larger network. . . . Companies like eBay have used the network effect not only to survive but to thrive: buyers and sellers have stayed loyal to the site because of the value of network.

Rule 3: The Power of Chaos

Starfish systems are wonderful incubators for creative, destructive, innovative, or crazy ideas. Anything goes. Good ideas will attract more people, and in a circle they'll execute the plan. Institute order and rigid structure, and while you may achieve standardization, you'll also squelch creativity. Where creativity is valuable, learning to accept chaos is a must.

Rule 4: Knowledge at the Edge

In starfish organizations, knowledge is spread throughout the organization. Wikipedia may be the best example of this rule.

Rule 5: Everyone Wants to Contribute

Not only do people throughout a starfish have knowledge, but they also have a fundamental desire to share and to contribute. Once again is the example of Wikipedia or free book reviews on Amazon.

Rule 6: Beware the Hydra Response

Attack a decentralized organization and you'll soon be reminded of Hydra, the many-headed beast of Greek mythology. If you cut off one head, two more will grow in its place.

Rule 7: Catalysts Rule

Catalysts are crucial to decentralized organizations! But it is not because they are in control but because they inspire people to action.

Rule 8: The Values are the Organization

Idology is the fuel that drives the decentralized organization. Most successful starfish organizations were started with what seemed at the time to be a radical ideology.

Rule 9: Measure, Monitor, and Manage

Just because starfish organizations tend to be ambiguous and chaotic doesn't mean that their results can't be measured. But when measuring a decentralized network, it's better to "be vaguely right than precisely wrong." Even if we could, it wouldn't really matter if we were able to get a precise count of how many members are in a network. What matters more is looking at circles. How active are they? How distributed is the network?

Rule 10: Flatten or Be Flattened

There are ways to fight a decentralized organization. We can change members' ideology or try to centralize the organization. But often the best hope for survival if we can't beat them is to join them.

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Seek not stardom, just starfishdom

Whether or not you care about leaderless, borderless and/or decentralized organizations, labeled as starfish organizations, they probably affect your life in some way or another whether you have downloaded music or avoided it, dealt with PETA, looked up something in Wikipedia, had actions of al-Qaeda affect your life in some way like stricter restrictions at the airports, etc. In that sense, you might as well get to know something about them to make better use of them or be prepared to deal with them effectively when you have to. If you read this book, you will likely not just want to know or know more about them, but get involved to see what they're all about or get more involved.

Written from both an overview and hands-on approach, this book is not only useful as a reference but also as a manual on the issue. The book identified the qualities of starfish organizations and what makes them effective, how anyone and everyone could start, sustain and/or get involved in these organizations, the types of people key to such organizations and how to combat them if you're on the other side. The book also warns about the constant change involved with maintaining starfish organizations and how to deal with them. Guidelines are offered and useful real life examples illustrate them to bring to life what otherwise be just concepts.

I had two small criticisms about the book, but nothing major enough to deter it from getting the five star rating I felt it deserved. First was that a few more real life examples of starfish organizations and/or their actions could have been chosen to illustrate some of the points made. There were plenty of diverse examples, but so many more abound as I read and thought about traits and qualities of starfish organizations that if mentioned, readers would realize even more influence starfish organizations have had in their lives. Second was that it did not address how government could use this book to decentralize since decentralization could be so powerful but yet government is the epitomy of centralization. I work for government, and felt government badly needed this, but had to think it through myself to come up with uses for attracting colleagues to my Starfish and Spider for Lunch (and Learn) voluntary book review session. When I did, though, not only was I excited at the possibilities, but also at the challenge to try to convince senior management of this, although that will take time. I will contact the authors to address this issue in a follow-up companion, perhaps, as they are the experts on this, but if nothing else, my ability to customize an application to government should tell you something about the book's effectiveness as a manual.

Overall, for the excellent writing style, clarity, impact and general application to the masses, five starfish!

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Peter NYC

This book is great. A must read for those interested in being flexible and evolving. Has important applications across multiple work environments.

An excellent read for any leader

The title of this book is accurate, but somewhat misleading. I admit that I purchased the book with some trepidation because I am a strong proponent of the value of strong leadership in any organizational structure.

"Starfish" isn't an apologetic for leaderless organizations as much as it is an expose'. The authors carefully take you through "what" a leaderless organization actually is and outline its history, uniqueness and provide real-life examples of various incarnations that will certainly be familiar to every reader. Most of us have experienced (or even participated) in these organizations whether we consciously realize it or not. But the authors (wisely) fall short of making hard recommendations and leave it to the reader to decide what impact this new genre of organization will bring. I suspect the dialog will be on-going.

If you are a leader who likes to stay on the leading edge and is at ease with thinking outside of your comfortable parameters, then you will enjoy this book. It is informative, yet easy to read and always interesting in its presentation of the content.

I found "Starfish" to be educational, provoking, challenging and confronting. I'm witting this review as a result of being inspired from the book to participate in a decentralized effort! Enjoy!

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a helpful look at network-based decentralization

The Starfish and the Spider offers an intriguing, if somewhat superficial, look at the differences between centralized and decentralized, or "leaderless," organizations. Spanning the time period from the early European conquest of the Americas (and why the Spanish could defeat the Aztecs but not the Apaches) to today's terrorist threats and Internet-based movements, the authors provide useful principles to characterize the two types of organizations and offer insights on effects such as the centralizing of power in American government following 9/11. While the book could benefit more from an underlying theoretical analysis of these organization types, the authors present a compelling argument for why many organizations should go "hybrid" and adopt the power of both the starfish and the spider. As a CIO this helped me better understand many Internet social movements of today, and as a university administrator I found this very pertinent to life in a decentralized organization.

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