One Down…

Lots to go.

So I finished reading The Starfish and the Spider. Hizzah.

The Starfish and the Spider

I don’t typically read, but my uncle sent the book to me, saying that the ideas in the book would be useful to me in my career. I felt a bit obligated to read it. Regardless, he was right. It was actually a pretty good read. I’m happy I got through it.

Here’s a quick summary… The authors of the book compare organizations to spiders and starfish, spiders having a centralized structure in that they have a head and legs. Starfish, on the other hand, don’t have a special place for their brains. Instead, their decision-making parts are throughout the starfish itself. If you take down the head, you kill spiders. If you chop up a starfish, it grows more limbs, and even the pieces can grow to become new starfish. Through countless examples, the authors make the case that starfish organizations are advantaged in many ways. They thrive.

The internet is the prime example of a starfish. Today, this concept is well-known and utilized constantly with sharing, social media and the like. And, unfortunately, the read was pretty repetitious since the authors illustrated the same point over and over again. Still, the concept is worth meticulously analyzing, as it can be applied to many aspects of life. It’s useful in business, politics, war, religion, or just friendships in general. The key to these flourishing groups is decentralization and a common ideology.

If anyone ever cares to read something that’s non-fiction, it’s only 200 pages. Give it a shot.

Now on to learning about wine, and spending hours coding.

Rob / October 2, 2011 / Life

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published / Required fields are marked *