Digital Aboriginal: The Direction of Business Now: Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing [Hardcover]

Mikela Tarlow (Author), Philip Tarlow (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

The Aborigine's view of the world suggests that all things are interconnected. Every relationship in turn influences every other relationship. Along these same lines, this book reveals how the modern-day business world organizes this unlimited range of possibilities and how readers can reorganize and redirect business plans merely by shifting marketing beliefs.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Digital Aboriginal, by Mikela Tarlow with Philip Tarlow, proposes a rather unique approach for those seeking innovative ways to stay abreast of today's high-tech business environment: reach back to the "magical, networked, multidimensional world" of the aborigines for inspiration and direction. The authors--she's a specialist in organizational learning; he's an internationally recognized artist--believe knowledge of the nomadic ways of the desert meshes perfectly with the modern needs of the workplace. In four sections that look into aboriginal behavior in the context of the digital age, they show how various key aspects can be appropriated with mostly familiar strategies and skills. They do this by examining information as a digital commodity; myths, stories, and rituals and the shaping of culture and commerce; independence, privacy, and human interaction in relation to peak performance; and moving permanently outside the box on the road to living differently. Scores of companies from Home Depot and Coca-Cola to small Web developers and consultancies are cited for their relevant applications in specific areas, and extensive sidebars in each section address the Grateful Dead Theory of Marketing, branding through entertainment, the freelance residents of Free Agent Nation, "seeing with new eyes," and other appropriate topics. --Howard Rothman

From Library Journal

Mikela and Philip Tarlow, founders of the company Accelerating Results and authors of Navigating the Future: A Personal Guide to Achieving Success in the New Millennium, here look at the new economy and its changing patterns. Drawing on the aborigines' view of the world that all things are connected, the authors analyze behavioral strategies for the new economy. The book's perspective is of an anthropologist observing "one of the most dramatic shifts in the organization of our social universe that has ever occurred." A new generation is "using the freedoms of the new economy to develop a set of behavioral strategies: digital aboriginal," according to the authors. They are "driven, yet they rarely plan," are "highly individualized, yet depend on tribal ways of birthing ideas," and are "brilliant strategists" but often "chart their courses based on pure instinct." Numerous case studies of companies illustrate changes in leadership strategies, marketing concepts, and behavioral strategies, moving toward a more instinctive, "nomadic" model. These companies include Napster, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and AOL. This thought-provoking work provides a unique perspective on the new economy and is recommended for business collections. Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, NY
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Business Plus (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446528250
• ISBN-13: 978-0446528252
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,465,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible journey!, August 9, 2002

By 

Sean P. Kearney (Castle Rock, CO USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Aboriginal: The Direction of Business Now: Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing (Hardcover)

I love this book! Few business books have ever inspired me to buy multiple copies for friends and colleagues but none has ever kept me up at night like this amazing work.

Drawing on the metaphor of Australian nomad culture, the Tarlows weave a web ranging from the implications of intellectual property practices on ALL businesses to the value of co-designing experience and storytelling over passive media. The final chapters on idea communities, social genius, trust and tribalmind are both mind-blowing and hopeful.

Perhaps what I enjoy the most about this book is the tension between future vision and present practicality. In many ways, Digital Aboriginal suggests a way to navigate the future using imagination, ethics and a heightened sense of participation in the world.

I cannot recommend this work highly enough!

5.0 out of 5 stars Different and interesting, February 8, 2008

By 

Juvencio Roldan Rivas "Storyteller" (Puebla, Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Digital Aboriginal: The Direction of Business Now: Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing (Hardcover)

Digital aboriginal is a quite different way to see the current business environment. And provides to the readers an innovative vision of the business and economics. It goes more beyond the metaphoras and you feel really as if the companies were as the ancient tribes. I really recommend and congratulate the authors because of their originality and imagination.

5.0 out of 5 stars If written today, this would be a hit!, April 4, 2007

By 

Douglas Karr "The Marketing Technology Blog" (Greenwood, IN United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Digital Aboriginal: The Direction of Business Now: Instinctive, Nomadic, and Ever-Changing (Hardcover)

Here's the amazing thing about Digital Aboriginal... it was written in 2002! Based on the information gathered through their research, Mikela and Philip actually touched on technology advancements and new businesses that had not even existed yet.

This book is a must read for those of you that would like to understand human behavior and it's impact on how the Internet is changing the world we live in and how we are living in the world. This is a fantastic book.