We-Think: Mass innovation, not mass production

We-Think: Mass innovation, not mass production

by Charles Leadbeater (Author)

Synopsis

Society is based not on mass consumption now but on mass, innovative participation - as is clear in phenomena from Wikipedia, Youtube and Craigslist to new forms of scientific research and political campaigning. This new mode of 'We-think' is reshaping the way we work, play and communicate."We-think" is about what the rise of these phenomena (not all to do with the internet) means for the way we organise ourselves - not just in digital businesses but in schools and hospitals, cities and mainstream corporations. For the point of the industrial era economy was mass production for mass consumption, the formula created by Henry Ford; but these new forms of mass, creative collaboration announce the arrival of a new kind of society, in which people want to be players, not spectators.This is a huge cultural shift, for in this new economy people want not services and goods, delivered to them, but tools so they can take part. In "We-think" Charles Leadbeater analyses not only these changes, but how they will affect us and how we can make the most of them. Just as, in the 1980s, his "In Search of Work" predicted the rise of more flexible employment, here he outlines a crucial shift that is already affecting all of us.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 304
Edition: Main
Publisher: Profile Books
Published: 18 Feb 2008

ISBN 10: 1861978928
ISBN 13: 9781861978929

Media Reviews
Likely to be the most controversial book about the Internet to be published in Britain this year...Leadbeater's We-Think is definitely an important book, even for sceptics like me...I urge you to read it. -- Andrew Keen * Independent *
...'this is a highly accessible and stimulating introduction to a set of trends that are still very much in their early stages. We should all be thinking a lot harder about where they will lead. * www.charliebeckett.org *
Leadbeater - with the help of his hundreds of online collaborators - has written an excellent intelligent and comprehensive guide to the labyrinth of bewildering ways in which a truly revolutionary era is unfolding. * Sunday Telegraph *
...brilliantly comprehensive guide to the revolutionary era of IT... this book is unbeatable.... Like the phenomenon it describes, it's a mind-boggling but essential user's manual for modern life. * Seven *
The new wizard of the web... We-think is a riveting guide to a new world...The seer has spoken. * Spectator *
I was gripped by Charled Leadbeater's erudition and passion for the subject...Leadbeater's book should be compulsory reading for all who seek to understand the driving force of this century. * Management Today *
A love letter to the web's emergent culture of sharing. * Daily Telegraph *
Author Bio
Charles Leadbeater is one the world's leading authorities on innovation and creativity in organisations. He has advised companies, cities and governments around the world, from the BBC and RSC to Vodafone and Microsoft, has won the prestigious David Watt prize for journalism and in 2005 was ranked by Accenture as one of the top management thinkers in the world. His previous books include Living on Thin Air and Up the Down Escalator. Time magazine highlighted his work in its 2006 review of ideas that could shape the coming decade.