A Seminar explaining the difference between starfish & spiders (decentralized & centralized organisations) and explores whether AIESEC is a starfish or a spider..

1. Good Morning
AIESECers!

2. The Starfish & The Spider
Seminar
By: Bassem Sabry
Prepared & Presented by:
Bassem Sabry
Director, Business Development
LightsON Consulting

3. What really
MOTIVATES US?

4. RSA Animate
VIDEO

5. What’s the hidden power
behind the success of
Wikipedia,
craigslist, & Skype?

6. What FUNDAMENTAL CHOICE
General Motors
put
& Toyota vastly different paths?

7. What do
eBay &
General Electric have in
common with the abolitionists and
women’s rights movements?

8. How could winning a
Supreme Court Case
be the biggest mistake
MGM could have made?

9. TODAY
as we speak
THE WORLD IS CHANGING
politically,
economically,
environmentally,
socially,
GLOBALLY.

10. TODAY
as we speak
THE WORLD IS CHANGING
politically: anarchy,
economically: RBE (resource-based economies),
environmentally: sustainability
socially: national revolutions,
GLOBALLY: Earth 2.0,
The Zeitgeist Movement.
The Venus project.
ANONYMOUS

11. TODAY
We’ll be sharing some
unexpected answers,
gripping stories,
and a tapestry of
Unlikely
CONNECTIONS.

12. THE STARFISH
AND THE
SPIDER
The unstoppable
power of
leaderless
organizations

13. So, what’s up with
SPIDERS & Starfishes?

14. SPIDER
If you cut off its head;
it dies.

15. STARFISH
The harder you fight it,
the stronger it gets

16. STARFISH AND SPIDERS
SPIDER STARFISH
• Hierarchical • Horizontal Structure
• Clear leaders • Everyone has equal say
• Departments • Can operate sporadically
• Titles • Direct Communication
• Communication is
difficult

17. CAN YOU SPOT
The Starfish
& The Spider?
5
CHALLENGES
AHEAD

18. Look at the slide and decide which of
the 2 pictures has a head
(someone in charge) and which one
is left without a leader.

19. Challenge 1

20. The internet does not have a
president;
a library does

21. Challenge 2

22. The music industry has presidents;
Emule (P2P-sharing) does not
(we don t even know who founded it,
so there is no one to sue J)

23. Challenge 3

24. The Apache were organized
in independent circles;
Pharoahs were the kings of society

25. Challenge 4

26. The CIA is a centralized company;
Al Qaida is an open system.
It does not have central intelligence; the
intelligence is spread throughout the system
(it is made up of largely independent cells)

27. Final Challenge

28. You kinda get the picture, right?

29. It s a natural reaction,
when attacked, to
adopt a command-and-
control mentality. But
this strategy fails if you
are fighting a starfish
organisation.

30. When attacked, a decentralized
organisation tends to become even MORE
OPEN AND DECENTRALIZED

31. Spiders and starfish are
two completely different organisms

32. So, what characterizes
a starfish
organisation?
1. Circles (many small
non-hierarchical groups)
2. Catalyst(s)
3. Ideology
4. Preexisting network

33. 1 Starfish
organisations
consist of many
small non-
hierarchical
groups (circles)

34. In the internet era it s much easier
to form and join circles. But because
participants aren t spending every
moment together, their bond isn t
as strong .
AIESEC circles form strong bonds
due to frequent face-to-face
contact.

35. 2 Starfish
organisations are
not run by CEOs;
instead they can
count on CATALYSTS

36. A catalyst
knows that
values
(trust and
understanding)
are a stronger
binding force
than
authority

37. A catalyst is any element or compound
that initiates a reaction without fusing into
that reaction
A catalyst gets a decentralized
organisation going and then cedes
control to the members. In letting go of
the leadership role, the catalyst
transfers ownership and responsibility
to the circle

38. A catalyst is any element or compound
that initiates a reaction without fusing into
that reaction
AIESEC presidents and leaders are
non-hierarchical catalysts

39. 3 Ideology is the GLUE
that holds
decentralized
organisations
together.
What is AIESEC’s ideology / vision?

40. Put people in
an open
system and
they
automatically
want to
contribute

41. However, starfish organisations
spawned by the internet may have
less meaningful ideologies than offline
equivalents.
An Apache would do anything to save
a fellow tribe member. Members of say
Wikipedia aren t going to die for each
other

42. So AIESECers,
are you Apaches or Wikis?

43. 4 Almost every
decentralized
organization that has
made it big, was
launched from a
Preexisting Platform

44. Be aware that centralized
organisations aren t set up to
launch decentralized movements.
Leaders in top-down organisations
want to control what s happening,
thereby limiting creativity

45. STARFISH EXAMPLES

48. Examples
of
Starfish

49. And
to
a
Lesser
Extent…

50. How
is
Skype
a
Starfish?
• Free
program
• Enabled
to
talk
to
others
using
the
program
• Distributed
compu<ng
power
using
p2p

51. What
about
Craigslist?
• Direct
interac<on
between
users
• Craigslist
is
only
a
plaCorm
to
use
• No
history
between
users,
just
come
and
go
• Originally
just
an
idea
between
Craig
and
friends

52. Apache
(web
soIware)
• Engineers
were
unhappy
with
being
ignored
• Contributors
developed
code
and
patches
• These
were
implemented
based
on
which
ones
worked
the
best
• No
formal
direc<on

53. Apache
(Na6ve
Americans)
• Spiritual
leaders
called
Nan’tans
• Based
on
previous
reputa<on
• Nobody
was
obligated
to
follow

54. Alcoholics
Anonymous
• Formed
from
a
previous
church
program
using
6
steps
• Forma<on
of
the
circle
group
aided
cohesion
• Added
and
expanded
to
other
situa<ons

55. P2P
Technologies
• Based
on
sharing
• Everyone
contributes
• Adds
to
the
value
of
the
network
with
new
members
• Always
under
development

56. Wikipedia
• The
famous
and
well-­‐
known
Wikipedia
• Anyone
can
contribute
• Can
be
applied
to
almost
anything
hRp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Wikipedia_Michelangelo.JPG

57. Major
Principles
1
When
aRacked,
a
decentralized
organiza<on
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

58. Major
Principles
4
Open
systems
can
easily
mutate.
5
The
decentralized
organiza<on
sneaks
up
on
you.
6
As
industries
become
decentralized,
overall
profits
decrease.
7
When
aRacked,
centralized
organiza<ons
tend
to
become
even
more
centralized

59. the way
FORWARD

60. Rules
to
Keep
in
Mind
for
1. Diseconomies
of
Scale
the
New
Age
2. The
Network
Effect
3. The
Power
of
Chaos
4. Knowledge
at
the
Edge
5. Everyone
Wants
to
Contribute

61. Rules
(cont.)
6. Beware
the
Hydra
Response
7. Catalysts
Rule
8. Values
ARE
the
Organiza6on
9. Measure,
Monitor,
Manage
10.
Fla]en
or
be
Fla]ened

62. Thank You!