Cut off a spider's head, and it dies; cut off a starfish's leg and it grows a new one, and that leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. Traditional top-down organisations are like spiders, but now starfish organisations are changing the face of business and the world. What's the hidden power behind the success of Wikipedia and Skype? What does Ebay have in common with the women's rights movement? The authors have discovered some unexpected answers, gripping stories and a tapestry of unlikely connections.