Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom, by Matthew Fraser and Soumitra Dutta

Giles Fraser, co-founder of Brands2Life

Throwing Sheep in the Boardroom – the title is a Facebook phrase that refers to a way of attracting someone’s attention – provides a comprehensive guide to the world of Web 2.0 and makes a convincing case that no industry can ignore the potential it offers to create more collaborative ways of conducting business.

It explains why senior management needs to understand and embrace social networking technologies as they will drive the way corporations work in the years to come. It makes the case that, with social networking in the workplace, hierarchies and organisational boundaries will be a thing of the past and, increasingly, businesses will be run horizontally, not vertically.

The authors, both highly respected INSEAD academics, provide a historical context for these trends and technologies and colourful examples of how they are used from globally.

For instance, the book illustrates how the concept of social networking was evident in the Middle Ages, with the emergence of the Knights Templar as a strong European network of like-minded individuals. They make a strong case for the advantages of social networking in the workplace as a way of sharing expertise and knowledge efficiently. They also show how social networking has transformed industries such as music where yesterday’s giants have been totally blindsided by community sites such as MySpace.

If you want to know how social networking will become the digital nervous system of corporations, then this is the book to read. 

Giles Fraser, co-founder of Brands2Life