Andrew McAfee on the Geek Way episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 20, 2023 · 1H 13M

Andrew McAfee on the Geek Way

from EconTalk · host EconTalk: Russ Roberts

What's different about companies that accomplish amazing things? Perhaps surprisingly, says Andrew McAfee of MIT, it has nothing to do with being agile or with better technology. Instead, they've developed what he calls "geek" cultures, which emphasize intense cooperation, rapid learning curves, and a lack of hierarchy. Listen as McAfee talks about his book The Geek Way with EconTalk's Russ Roberts and how focusing on company norms, as opposed to organizational charts and structure, is a key to realizing big ambitions. They also discuss the role that data and evidence play in geek companies' decision-making and why the willingness to embrace failure is a winning strategy. 

What's different about companies that accomplish amazing things? Perhaps surprisingly, says Andrew McAfee of MIT, it has nothing to do with being agile or with better technology. Instead, they've developed what he calls "geek" cultures, which emphasize intense cooperation, rapid learning curves, and a lack of hierarchy. Listen as McAfee talks about his book The Geek Way with EconTalk's Russ Roberts and how focusing on company norms, as opposed to organizational charts and structure, is a key to realizing big ambitions. They also discuss the role that data and evidence play in geek companies' decision-making and why the willingness to embrace failure is a winning strategy.

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Michael Munger on EconTalk EconTalk: Mike Munger and Russ Roberts Michael C. Munger, Director of the interdisciplinary Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) program at Duke University, appears regularly as a guest on EconTalk, the award-winning economics podcast hosted by Russ Roberts of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Podcast episodes featuring Mike Munger are listed here. EconTalk has been taking the Monday out of Mondays since 2006. All 750+ episodes are available in the archive. Go to EconTalk.org for transcripts, related resources, and comments. EconTalk Archives, 2006 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, free trade, economic growth, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions. Rob Wiblin's top recommended EconTalk episodes v0.2 Feb 2020 EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty Rob Wiblin's favourite 100 episodes of EconTalk — the award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life: http://econtalk.orgA selection of the 'top 11' have modified release dates so they show up at the top when you choose to show the most recent first. The rest are then listed by release date.Learn more about this list and the episodes: https://tinyurl.com/rob-top-econtalkRob Wiblin's personal website: http://robwiblin.com EconTalk at GMU EconTalk: Russ Roberts, Library of Economics and Liberty EconTalk is an award-winning weekly talk show about economics in daily life. Featured guests include renowned economics professors, Nobel Prize winners, and exciting speakers on all kinds of topical matters related to economic thought. Topics include health care, business cycles, economic growth, free trade, education, finance, politics, sports, book reviews, parenting, and the curiosities of everyday decision-making. Russ Roberts, of the Library of Economics and Liberty (econlib.org) and George Mason U., draws you in with lively guests and creative repartee. Look for related readings and the complete archive of previous shows at EconTalk.org, where you can also comment on the podcasts and ask questions.

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What's different about companies that accomplish amazing things? Perhaps surprisingly, says Andrew McAfee of MIT, it has nothing to do with being agile or with better technology. Instead, they've developed what he calls "geek" cultures, which...

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