Think about Maria Montessori when you think about a geek. The patron saint of geeks is probably Maria Montessori, who about 100 years ago got obsessed with the problem of how you educate young children best, and came up with the Montessori educational method, which is this radical departure from the industrial scale model of schools that was dominant then, and sadly still dominant now. For me a geek is somebody who gets obsessed with a hard problem and is willing to embrace unconventional solutions. I’m walking away from the computer-based definition of a geek, which was kind of where it started. Other newsletters or opt out at any time by managing your If you’re a subscriber, you can sign up here. He also shares an inside look at these conversations -and solicits questions for future discussions - in a newsletter just for HBR subscribers. Each week, Ignatius talks to a top leader on LinkedIn Live - previous interviews included Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi. “ The New World of Work” explores how top-tier executives see the future and how their companies are trying to set themselves up for success. The delicate balance of human judgment and evidence, data-driven insights.Building organizations that can get things right, even when the person at the top of the org chart is wrong.Evolving a company’s culture not by focusing on organizational structure, but on company norms.
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You need them throughout the organization, not just at the top, and you need to entrust them with the power to make real changes.įor this episode of our video series “The New World of Work”, HBR editor in chief Adi Ignatius sat down with McAfee to discuss: In his forthcoming book, The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results, McAfee says geeks are nothing more or less than “obsessive mavericks” who are absolutely fixated on finding unconventional solutions to their business’ hard problems. In fact, their success often has more to do with a specific type of corporate culture-and it’s a culture that even companies not based on the US West Coast or focused on technology can adopt.Īccording to Andrew McAfee, a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management, business leaders need to think more like geeks, but not the computer-based stereotype you may be familiar with. The secret to success for many Silicon Valley tech companies isn’t necessarily that they’re ultra-nimble start-ups, or that they’re led by tech-savvy geniuses. What does McAfee mean by geek? He defines them as “obsessive mavericks,” people who become obsessed with hard problems and are willing to pursue unconventional solutions – to avoid the dysfunctions that have traditionally plagued companies as they expand.
It’s a somewhat contrarian view after all, many of us have criticized Silicon Valley-run businesses as being male-dominated and lacking in empathy (even, of course, as we continue to use their products). His big idea is that “geeks” have created not only the technology that’s driving our future but also a management approach that defines contemporary corporate excellence. He is the author of the forthcoming book “The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results,” the subject of much of this “New World of Work” interview. He is a prolific writer, a frequent contributor to HBR and other outlets, and a sought-after commentator on technological change – especially, these days, on the potential of generative AI.
Throughout his career, he has done ground-breaking research on how digital technologies are changing the world. Andrew McAfee is a principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
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