What type is your org?

Maybe it'll never reach the dubious popularity of "what's your sign?" as an ice-breaker, but it is not inconceivable that in certain circles checking out your organization's type may be the conversational gambit du jour - thanks to a new book 'The Starfish and the Spider' by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom. I read it a few weeks ago (got an early copy at one of the events I attended - nice bennie!) and found it not only a fast and interesting read, but fun to talk about.

Very briefly it's about centralized (spider) and de-centralized (starfish) organizations, with a strong bias towards the ocean-dweller. It covers the Apaches as well as Apache, and makes a case for why the starfish model is hard to stop. Coincidentally, the recent issue of Scientific American (Nov 2006, and I only wish I read the mag regularly) had a forum piece (by Stuart Kauffman) on how biology may deliver insights into adaptable economic systems that physics cannot - and a point about how too much 'central control' could limit the adaptability. There's a common thread between these two: non-hierarchical, de-centralized, loosely structured organizations are more nimble and successful.

It made me think about early stage startup teams. The best ones are flexible and fast, and are usually too small to have much of a hierarchy. They don't quite follow the 'de-centralized' model as they're often just a few people in the group with the center and edges all blurring into one, but they do have 'catalysts' and 'champions' as mentioned in the book. These are the passionate people who make the startup work - and yes, here we go again, passion's in play. The starfish organization builds up around an idea, cause or even technology, with a goal to spread it to a large number of people, possibly changing behavior. Getting people to buy into your vision and make change happen is not done by decree, but by dialog and dedication, calling for catalysts and champions - and guess what, entrepreneurs fit the bill too.