Ori Brafman is co-author of one of the hottest selling leadership books on the market < The Starfish and The Spider. About the book... If you cut off a spiderıs head, it dies; if you cut off a starfishıs 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. Whatıs the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia, craigslist, and Skype? What do eBay and General Electric have in common with the abolitionist and womenıs rights movements? What fundamental choice put General Motors and Toyota on vastly different paths? After five years of ground-breaking research Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom have discovered some unexpected answers, gripping stories, and a tapestry of unlikely connections. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: traditional ³spiders,² which have a rigid hierarchy and top-down leadership, and revolutionary ³starfish,² 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. And it will teach you: * How the Apaches evaded 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 has reached millions of members 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. Youıll never see things the same way again. You can read more about it at http://www.starfishandspider.com. About the author... Born in Israel and raised in Texas, Ori Brafman has been a lifelong entrepreneur. Ori holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Stanford Universityıs Graduate School of Business. As an alumnus, Ori has facilitated an MBA course on interpersonal dynamics at the Stanford Business School. When he was still in college, he co-founded Vegan Action, which successfully launched a network with thirty-six national and international chapters. He brought vegan foods into numerous college dining halls. Since then, Ori has led marketing campaigns for UC Berkeleyıs Young Musicians Program, prevented fast food companies from advertising in schools, led marketing efforts for a healthy fast-food startup, and been a founding team member of Courtroom Connect, a courtroom technology company. Together with Rod, Ori co-founded Global Peace Networks, which catalyzed a network of CEOs working on conflict resolution and economic development in Africa and the Middle East. He lives in San Francisco with his wife and two cats. Alan Hirsch
top of page