Johnny Baker summarized some of the implications of the starfish vs. spider metaphor in his presentation on creative leadership. How would you answer these questions about your movement building effort?
Starfish or Spider
is there a person in charge?
are there headquarters?
if you thump it on the head will it die?
is there a clear division of roles?
if you take out a unit is the organisation harmed?
are knowledge and power distributed or concentrated?
is the organisation flexible or rigid?
can you count the employees or participants?
are working groups funded by the organisation or are
they self funding?
do working groups communicate directly or through
intermediaries?