Navigate the digital frontier with “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” by Matthew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta. Published in 2008, this book provides a prophetic look at the burgeoning social media landscape, examining the then-emerging power of platforms like Facebook and MySpace, and their impact on business, society, and personal identity. Before “social media” became a household term, Fraser and Dutta were analyzing its game-changing potential. Beyond a mere description, “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” dissects the drivers behind social network adoption and forecasts the profound consequences that would reshape professional and personal lives. It explores how online gladiators in virtual worlds might cultivate valuable leadership skills transferrable to corporate environments, challenging traditional management ideals. The book offers practical guidance for leaders grappling with Enterprise 2.0, not as a product but a radical shift in organizational culture. It champions the transparency and agility fostered by Web 2.0, questioning hierarchies and conventional management styles. Fraser and Dutta venture beyond the boardroom, examining social networking’s broader societal impact. They reveal how these platforms empower individuals, sidestep traditional institutions, and reshape identity, status, and power dynamics. Through insights and real-world examples, the book illuminates the far-reaching “e-ruptions” of Web 2.0 on human interaction. Praise came from C.K. Prahalad, who called it essential for understanding societal evolution, and Jimmy Wales, who valued its insights into collaborative knowledge. “Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom” isn’t just a historical account; it’s a timeless exploration of the forces shaping our digital world. It’s invaluable for leaders, activists, and anyone seeking to comprehend social media’s ongoing impact on life, work, and the world. Discover how online social networking is transforming your life, work, and world.
Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom: How Online Social Networking Will Transform Your Life, Work and World
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“If you want to understand why Wikipedia is changing the world, this book is a must read.”
Jimmy Wales, Founder, Wikipedia
“This book is a must read for all – social activists, politicians or managers – who have an interest in understanding how our society is morphing.”
Professor C.K. Prahalad, #1 Management Guru and author of Competing for the Future
Synopsis
The rise of social networks like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo is changing the way we see ourselves, how we interact with each other, how we work and how we do business on a daily basis. Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom explores the powerful forces driving the social networking revolution, the impact of these profound changes, and the far reaching consequences of social networking.
Detailing the way social networks affects both individuals and societies as a whole, the book offers a detailed focus on the ways social networking affects the world of business and work. The generation entering the workforce today – and entering boardrooms everywhere – is fully engaged with social networking and its uses. Rather than feeling threatened and paranoid, today’s business leaders need to understand this phenomenon, accept that it won’t go away, and embrace its power in the world of business.
Excerpts from Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom:
“Your next CEOs most impressive job credential might be status as an online gladiator, honing valuable leadership skills mercilessly slaying mortal enemies on World of Warcraft. Why not, the skills necessary to hack your way to the top levels of virtual games especially a killer instinct are excellent pre-requisites for managing complex organisations.”
“Many senior managers mistakenly believe Enterprise 2.0 is a product, like the latest Microsoft office suite. They dont realise that Enterprise 2.0 is not a cost centre, but a state of mind a revolutionary new way of managing companies and conducting business.
Web 2.0 tools have no regard for organisational boundaries, hierarchies, or job titles. Try telling a senior executive that, henceforth, there will be no job titles, reporting lines, and organisational boundaries in the company and watch the reaction closely.”
“When someone calls a meeting, he or she is asserting authority over those who are invited to attend. Meetings are exclusive and closed. In most corporations, who gets invited to a meeting and who does not sends a signal about whos in the loop. Meetings are a form of social grooming inside organisations. Meetings impose vertical authority. They establish status hierarchies. The Enterprise 2.0 model is feared in corporations because it threatens status hierarchies.”
“Harnessing the dynamism of horizontal networks, Web 2.0 social media are bypassing institutional forms of social organisation and directly empowering people. This book has attempted to tell that story with illustrations, which, we hope, have offered intriguing and instructive insights into the powerful transformations we described. What has interested us most, indeed, is the transformative impact or e-ruptions of Web 2.0 social media on the three dynamics that gave this book its structure: identity, status and power.”
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Binding | |
| Condition | |
| ISBN-10 | 0470740140 |
| ISBN-13 | 9780470740149 |
| Language | |
| Pages | 344 |
| Publisher | |
| Year published | |
| Weight | 650 |
| Edition | 1 |
| Dewey decimal | 302.30285 |
