The Pebble and the Avalanche

"Mr. Yudkowsky offers a novel perspective on the forces of destructive creation. His analysis, and numerous examples of the benefits and pitfalls of disaggregation, draws from sources as diverse as trains, bears and Lenin. An entertaining and thought provoking read."

"For anyone working in the high-tech world, The Pebble and the Avalanche provides a great framework for making decisions about product and market strategies. Yudkowsky's notion of disaggregation gives us a way of thinking of evolution of industries from railroads to open source software.Through a series of interesting (and often entertaining!) examples, the author shows us the fundamental power of breaking industries and products into smaller parts.

"The book also explains why industry standards, which are so important to marketplace acceptance, aren't just a fad. Yudkowsky explains how standards actually do add value to products and services."

"A terrific book -- it's full of ideas that helped me rethink our company's position in our commercial ecosystem. And it's entertaining, too!"

(Author, Terms of Engagement: Changing The Way We Change Organizations. Co-author, Your Don't Have To Do It Alone: How To Involve Others To Get Things Done.)

"This book started pebbles bouncing around in my head. Here's why: Do you know why standardization produces innovation? Do you know how taking things appart makes them more valuable? If you're tired of incremental progress and want to make a big difference, then stop reading this endorsement and buy this book."

"An absolutely fascinating book with an entirely new -- and entirely practical -- perspective on what's important in technology and the business of technology. I found plenty of ideas that let me look at my day-to-day activities to better understand what works and what's important (and what doesn't work and why not).

"I particularly enjoyed the good, concrete examples that make up ninety percent of the book. This isn't another generic change-in-the-workplace book. This book offers rational advice and sensible tools that really make a difference when making decisions, both big and small."

"This is a wonderful, thought provoking, book. At a time when M&A drives so much of the market news, Yudkowsky's theoretical and historical arguments on the power of disaggregation to change, grow, and transform industries deserve careful consideration. This book shows how at all scales, from the day to day problem solving task to the largest IP issues of our time, disaggregation can be a powerful tool. After reading this book, you will think differently."