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Episode 838

The Geek Way: MIT's Andrew McAfee on Agility, Innovation, and the 'Four Norms' of Geeks

January 18, 2024
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About the Guest

Andrew McAfee

Bestselling Author of "The Geek Way", Principal Research Scientist at MIT, & Co-Founder of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy
Andrew McAfee is the co-founder and co-director of MIT's Initiative on the Digital Economy, as well as a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management. His research investigates how information technology changes the way companies organize themselves and perform, with a further focus on how computerization affects competition, society, the economy, and the workforce. Andrew is also the bestselling author of "The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results", which brings together much of what he's learned through that research. His earlier books include "More from Less"; "The Second Machine Age"; "Machine, Platform, Crowd"; "Leading Digital"; and "Race Against the Machine."

Episode Overview

838: There’s no shame in being called a “geek”. In fact, according to Andrew McAfee, it’s actually a compliment. In this episode, Andrew, co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, shares insight into the research he’s conducted while writing his latest book “The Geek Way”. He explains the ‘Four Norms’ of geeks; science, ownership, speed, & openness; and how companies can foster and navigate a culture that follows ‘the geek way’. Andrew discusses what it means to adopt Agile, how to leverage Agile practices to accelerate the pace of innovation, and why companies often get trapped in planning-heavy processes. Finally, Andrew looks back on his career and the learnings he has drawn from his writing process.

“"You have to get a lot geekier if you want to stand a chance when the geeks come to town.""

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