The Geek Way Audiobook By Andrew McAfee cover art

The Geek Way

The Radical Mindset That Drives Extraordinary Results

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The Geek Way

By: Andrew McAfee
Narrated by: Andrew McAfee, Sean Patrick Hopkins
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About this listen

In this "handbook for disruptors" (Eric Schmidt), The Geek Way reveals a new way to get big things done. It will change the way you think about work, teams, projects, and culture, and give you the insight and tools you need to harness our human superpowers of learning and cooperation.

What is “being geeky?” It’s being a perennially curious person, one who's not afraid to tackle hard problems and embrace unconventional solutions. McAfee shows how the geeks have created a new culture based around four norms: science, ownership, speed, and openness. The geek way seems odd at first. It's not deferential to experts, fond of planning and process, afraid of mistakes, or obsessed with "winning." But it explains everything from why Montessori babies turn out to be creative tinkerers to how newcomers are disrupting industry after industry (and still just getting started).

When all four norms are in place, a culture emerges that is freewheeling, fast-moving, egalitarian, evidence-driven, argumentative, and autonomous. Why does the geek way work so much better? McAfee provides an original answer: because it taps into humanity's superpower, which is our ability to cooperate intensely and learn rapidly. By providing insights from the young discipline of cultural evolution, McAfee shows that when we come together under the right conditions, we quickly figure out how to build reusable spaceships and self-correcting organizations. Under the wrong conditions, though, we create bureaucracy, chronic delays, cultures of silence, and the other classic dysfunctions of the Industrial Era.

Mixing cutting-edge science, history, analysis, and stories that show the geek way in action, McAfee offers a new way to see the world and empowering tools for seizing the big opportunities of today and tomorrow.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Andrew McAfee (P)2023 Little, Brown & Company
Geeky Management Psychology Business
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Critic reviews

“[A] smart, irreverent, informative guide to navigating the future of work. Companies that don’t follow The Geek Way, according to author Andy McAfee, will fall behind...Each of these simple words contains more than you can know, until you read this remarkable book.”—Amy C. Edmondson, Professor of Leadership & Management, Harvard Business School, and author of Right Kind of Wrong

"In industry after industry, corporate boards are asking management what their plan is to thrive in an unsettled, fast-changing environment. The Geek Way contains among the best answers I've seen to this critical question."—Dambisa Moyo, Global Economist; Member, House of Lords

"I've worked closely with Andy for more than a decade, I'm still blown away by this book. It's bold and original, relevant and rigorous, and immediately useful for any restless, curious innovator. In other words, for any geek."—Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and co-author of the New York Times bestselling The Second Machine Age

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Good framing

I liked how this reframed a lot of what we already know to make it relevant. However, I found the references repetitive.

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Interesting take on modern principles of management

While some of the examples are questionable, the content overall leverages valuable concepts from agile, Clayton Christensen, Patrick Lencioni and others. While an admirable playbook, many companies will strive to actually love these principles.

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Should be part of corporate training everywhere

Finally I’ve found what I’ve been thinking for years articulated clearly with great examples. I wish all of my peers would read/listen to this!

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Will be a classic

I hate business culture books. This is different. This is it. Read it and learn or be beaten by those who have.
In the spirit of the book. There are a few passages that feel bolted on. Like they were added by a diversity professional. They don’t detract from the book’s brilliant themes.

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The geek way is one of many way!

Wow so my leadership suggested this book. What an amazing dive for use cases and business problems people face. I think this is a great book for people wishing to learn, dive, and expand knowledge around agile, waterfall, team communication with relevant topics anyone could gain information on. I’ve told a lot of friends to check this out.

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great book

no idea why it didn't have a 5 star rating. great book for entrepreneurs and managers alike

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Great strategy and culture book

Good, structured and most importantly practical narrative. Good mix of anecdotal and researched findings, story telling and actionable insights. Sent it to my CEO because it was that good

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