Starfish-Spider and Home Investing

Brafman and Beckstrom's book on leader(less)ship and the unstoppable decentalized power of headless organizations is a must read for anyone who is facing a changing society and business culture.

It should be essential reading for anyone involved in influencing organizations. It's revolutionary findings, published here for all to understand through conceptual explainations and great annecdotal examples. The research and ideas presented are basically concerned with human behavior.
In one way it has the simple contrast and comparison of a high school essay. What are the glaring differences between a centralized and decentralized organization? The book gives plenty of examples.

Brafman/Beckstrom prove themselves to not have invented the ideas in the book. But to their credit, it is no less a trick to be shrewd observers of human patterns and the potential of self-organizing systems. The example the Apache's culture and ofGeronimo, of Napster- Kazaa-Grokster, of Alcoholics Anonymous are powerful, insightful and easy to get a handle on once you have the view of this book.
If you were taught in school, at work, in seminars, at conferences- like I was with examples, models and on tests. You were most likely taught centralized organization. Either top down like a pyramid. Or inverted pyramid to show a reversed sense of hierarchy- but still centralized.

It is a model of a controlled structure. In its own right it is powerful. ( do not suppose that I am speaking for it or against centralized structures- Structures of an organization are "what is").

A decentralized organization being powerful is counterintuitive to what we have been taught and perhaps even what we want. Therein lies the need for the truth of this observation. A STARFISH observation. The Who's in Charge here observation. Can you change this and win against it? The answer is "the more you try to control it, the more unpredictable it becomes" and the "harder you fight this force, the stronger it gets."
If you want more than the taste I have presented- get the book!

SO, what does all of this have to do with houses -homes-retail- wholesale investing?
The power of investing might be created in a large centralized way like Trump's university
and New York City Tower. The name attracts and controls and influences the decisions of thousands. Yet for the little investor, we look not in the centralized places. We look for the niches, the zones, the conversions that seeming don't exist and we create them.

The history of Apple Valley, California has influences that are starfish like in orgin.
The apple orchards don't exit here anymore. The Depression helped to deal a death blow to the fruit industry here. However, in a non centralized way it encouraged Hollywood types to come and promote Apple Valley. A top Rodeo trick rider Jeanne Godshall influenced people to come to Apple Valley. Actor Clark Gable was a frequent guest at the Yucca Loma Ranch (there is at least one extant building of that era easily visible on Rincon Rd south of Yucca Loma Rd.)

When Newt Bass and Bud Westlund began selling land, the first piece of land sold Feb 22, 1946,Washington's Birthday. Names like John Wayne indorsed "there's no place like Apple Valley for relaxing".
A Hollywood star and cowboy Roy Rogers helped Newt Bass to bring people here to see and invest in a town and area that were simply in the idea stage.

So please note that a combination of centralized(Bass/Westlund) and decentralized (Wayne/Rogers) brought about the transformation of a High Desert Area.
Today Apple Valley is a hidden jewel of investment opportunity.