Understanding the amazing force that links some of todayas most successful companies

If you cut off a spideras leg, itas crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfishas leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

Whatas the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and womenas 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 ground-breaking research, Ori Brafman and Rod 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 aspiders, a which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary astarfish, a 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 US government, are also learning how to incorporate starfish principles to achieve success. The book explores:

*How the Apaches fended off the powerful Spanish army for 200 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 hasreached untold millions with only a shared ideology and without a leader

The Starfish and the Spider is the rare book that will change how you understand the world around you. BACKCOVER: Advance praise for The Starfish and the Spider

aThe Starfish and the Spider is a compelling and important book.a

aPierre Omidyar, CEO, Omidyar Network and Founder and Chairman, eBay Inc.

aThe 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 a

aRobin Wolaner, founder, Parenting Magazine and author, Naked in the Boardroom

aA fantastic read. Constantly weaving stories and connections. You'll never see the world the same way again.a

aNicholas J. Nicholas Jr., former Co-CEO, Time Warner

aA must-read. Starfish are changing the face of business and society. This page-turner is provocative and compelling.a

aDavid Martin, CEO, Young Presidents' Organization

aThe Starfish and the Spider provides a powerful prism for understanding the patterns and potential of self-organizing systems.a

aSteve Jurvetson, Partner, Draper Fisher Jurvetson

aThe Starfish and the Spider lifts the lid on a massive revolution in the making, a revolution certain to reshape every organization on the planet from bridge clubs to global governments. Brafman and Beckstrom elegantly describe what is afoot and offer a wealth of insights that will be invaluable to anyone starting something newaor rescuing something oldaamidst this vast shift.a

aPaul Saffo, Director, Institute for the Future

aThe Starfish and the Spider is greatreading. It has] not only stimulated my thinking, but as a result of the reading, I proposed ten action points for my own organization.

aProfessor Klaus Schwab, Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

"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." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

Based on groundbreaking research into decentralized organizations, this book shows that this type of leadership is primed to change the world.