# The Starfish and the Spider

*The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations*

2022-07-19 | `leadership` `team-management` `philosophy`

> If you cut off a spider's head, it dies; 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.

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If you cut off a spider's head, it dies; 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.

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?

Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom have discovered some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely
connections. The Starfish and the Spider explores what happens when starfish take on spiders and 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.

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In this talk, Rod Beckstrom, does a great overview of the main ideas of his book: 

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