The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few Paperback – 3 Mar. 2005

I actually bought this copy to give to one of the Directors of a large company that I advise. He was dabbling in consensual feedback as the core of a brainstorming session that I was in and I mentioned this book and then ordered it for him before he went back to the US. First comment - I love Amazon prime, because you can do this - think of a book and receive it so quickly. As for the book, it is something that sticks in your head and comes back to you at the most unexpected moments - even at my kid's Xmas fair I looked at the 'how many sweets in the jar' stall differently. Very insightful and useful at meetings where you can see the dangers of directed groupthink most clearly but also useful as a general way of thinking about problem solving. Highly recommended.

As the title suggest crowds can be wise. I guess a lot of people would never concur, others will be happy to indicate situations when collective wisdom can outperform most brilliant leaders. And there are situations, which cannot be managed at all, and the whole concept of leadership is not applicable. Take street traffic for example. No leader exists, only the set of simple rules to be respected and followed and apparently same goal uniting all drivers: to reach the target and not get killed on the way. Is this a collective wisdom or not? Whatever the answer, the point is "The wisdom of crowds" is not against leadership as it seems to be positioned. After reading the book it looks to me just like a marketing trick designed to create a buzz through controversy but the book is nowhere near dethroning leadership.Take space shuttle case for example. What it proves is not that leadership as a management formula is destined to fail. Instead it makes a solid case about how disastrous a leadership can be when a leader is missing some of necessary, even basic skills like listening to his peers and nurturing deeper reasoning within the team rather than assuming he knows everything. So don't be discouraged and expect no manifesto of management revolution. Instead look for teamwork hints and tips which You can hopefully find inspiring despite being somewhat obvious. Like what it takes for a "wisdom of crowds" to be really fruitful and working to help you meet your goals as a manager, or a leader? One of the answers I will remember: take really good care about versatility and different background of team members. Mix them well, challenge them, expect best results.If you take this kind of pragmatic approach which seems to be in contradiction to aura surrounding the book, than you can find it insightful. If you expect it however to overthrow the leadership as a concept, unless you already are convinced it should give place to some alternative, more democratic approach to management, you will not become convinced any further.

The arguments are clever and there is somethign there. But the viewpoint is also parochially US. Like saying "we all drive on the right" - not in the UK, we don't. Chinese never queue except when it is imposed higher authority. Back in the 1960s, it was the common convention that any man would give up his seat to a woman, at least in the UK.Despite which, you do need to know this stuff to think any further.

A very well argued case for important decisions to be made by groups of diverse individuals rather than ‘leaders’ or bosses.

It's OK. It has its message, it says it, then it goes around in circles a bit. Also it fails to address the philosophical hole of what actually constitutes a successful or correct decision by whose standards.

A classic assault on a scourge of our age - the expert knows best. There is a good podcast involving the author here: http://alberttapper.blogspot.co.uk/ (click rosette banner link on right hand side).

This book is a truly definitive insight into groups and crowds - how they behave and how you can lead them to greatness. Ever wondered why groups act, react and make decisions? This is not just an insight into how people interact with each other, but a view of human nature itself - highly recommended

This book was a real eye-opener for me and got me thinking more about suspicions that I, as a casual observer of life, had for ages about the fallibility of experts.