Andrew McAfee on 'The Geek Way'

Following the conversation, we invite you to join us for a meet-and-greet with the author, book signing and light refreshments.

The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset That Drives Extraordinary Results (Little, Brown and Company, November 14, 2023)

Andrew McAfee, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan School of Management; co-founder and co-director, MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy

New York Times bestselling author Andrew McAfee’s The Geek Way tackles a fundamental question: Why do some organizations perform so well in uncertain, fast-changing environments? In this groundbreaking book, McAfee "makes a fascinating case" (Adam Grant) for a revolution hiding in plain sight, explains the science behind its success, and shows how the geek way can be used by anyone to stay well ahead of the competition.

McAfee, the coauthor of The Second Machine Age, has had a ringside seat for the biggest business battles of the 21st century. They haven't been fair fights. In industry after industry incumbents have been knocked down and a new crop of leaders — the business geeks — have appeared.

What's their secret? McAfee's answer is that they've created a new culture: more freewheeling, fast-moving, autonomous, argumentative, evidence-based, and egalitarian than those that dominated the industrial era. This culture is based on four great geek norms: science, ownership, speed, and openness.

Counterintuitive and paradigm-shifting, The Geek Way does more than just describe these norms and show them in action. It also reveals why they work so well. McAfee explains how they tap into humanity's superpower, which is our ability to cooperate intensely and learn rapidly. By providing insights from the young discipline of cultural evolution, McAfee shows that when we come together under the right conditions — when we follow the geek way — culture evolves quickly and an organization excels at innovation, agility, and execution simultaneously. Under the wrong conditions, meanwhile, things grind to a halt and we get bureaucracy, chronic delays, cultures of silence, and other classic dysfunctions of the industrial era.

The Geek Way is a book like no other. It will change and ground your thinking around building healthy, high-performing organizations, empower yourself with the proper thinking and tools that will fuel innovation and allow you to seize opportunities.

Andrew McAfee is a Principal Research Scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management and co-founder and co-director of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy. He studies how technological progress changes the world. He is the author of More from Less, the coauthor of the New York Times bestselling The Second Machine Age, and author of the forthcoming book, The Geek Way.

This event is available to attend in-person or virtually via livestream.

Rotman Events is committed to accessibility for all people. If you have any access needs or if there are any ways we can support your full participation in this session, please email Mandi Gosling [[email protected]] no later than 2 weeks in advance of the event and we will be glad to work with you to make the appropriate arrangements.

• The event will be hosted in Desautels Hall at the Rotman School of Management (105 St. George St., Toronto, ON M5S 3E6). Your registration fee includes a copy of the book, meet-and-greet with book signing by the author, as well as access to a video replay of the session for 30 days.

• Rotman Events will email registrants a link to the livestream. Your registration fee includes access to the livestream, video replay for 30 days, a copy of the book and shipping fees. The book will be shipped to registrants after the event. Please allow 3 - 4 weeks for delivery.

• Unable to attend the event due to scheduling conflicts? Not to worry. All registrants (in-person or livestream) can access the full recording on-demand for one month after the live event.

• Refunds will only be issued for cancellations received in writing NO LATER than 24 hours prior to the event. Please email [email protected] for processing.

• In-person registrants who do not pick up their book at the event will have 5 business days to request postal delivery by emailing us at [email protected]. All unclaimed books will be returned to the publisher after that time.

Questions: [email protected], Mandi Gosling

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Rotman School of Management + Livestream, 105 St. George Street, Toronto, Canada