The Geek Way with Andrew McAfee

In The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results, Andrew McAfee describes how a new approach to corporate culture based on science, ownership, speed, and openness, is driving value creation in the 21st century.

McAfee is an expert on how technological progress changes the world, being named to both the Thinkers50 list of top management thinkers and the Politico 50 group of people transforming American politics. In his new book, he outlines how the giants of Silicon Valley found success not just because they are at the center of the digital technology revolution, but also because they are revolutionizing the way business is done—what McAfee describes as the “geek way.”.

Together with Martin Reeves, Chairman of BCG Henderson Institute, McAfee explores the core tenets of a corporate culture that embraces the “geek way” and explains why it works, drawing on insights from the science of cultural evolution. They also discuss how traditional, non-tech firms can embrace this new culture and operating system.

Key topics discussed:

02:12 | What are the core tenets of the “geek way”?

08:55 | How could these tenets be applied to any businesses?

11:31 | How can we overcome the limitations of the “geek way” (e.g., negative corporate culture aspects, retaining culture as a firm grows)?

15:05 | Is the “geek way” unique to American firms? What can we learn from the Chinese tech sector?

17:46 | What is the role of strategy in a “geek way” company?

20:11 | How might the “geek way” culture change in the future, given new challenges (e.g., elevated costs of capital)?

23:01 | What are the first steps a CEO should take to establish the “geek way” in their firm?

Additional inspirations from Andrew McAfee:

• More From Less: How we Finally Stopped Using Up The World - And What Happens Next (Simon & Schuster UK, 2019)
• Machine, Platform, Crowd: Harnessing Our Digital Future (Brilliance Audio, 2017)
• The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies (Brilliance Audio, 2014)
• Race Against the Machine: How the Digital Revolution is Accelerating Innovation, Driving Productivity, and Irreversibly Transforming Employment and the Economy (Digital Frontier Press, 2012)

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

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