The Collective Intelligence Book
How to build a business that’s smarter than you.

“An essential guide to help leaders tap their organization’s full potential.”
~ Daniel H Pink. #1 New York Times bestselling author
“A whistle-stop tour through processes that lead to clear thinking and conducting business better.”
~ Anjli Raval, Management Editor at the Financial Times
What’s in this book?
Continuously successful organizations don’t rely on a genius CEO. They build collective intelligence, systematically empowering employees at all levels to use their brains and apply their thinking to the things that matter most.
We associate Steve Jobs with the iPhone, Warren Buffet with Apple, and Jeff Bezos with Amazon Prime... but each of these breakthroughs was actually sparked by an employee who’d been given the tools, skills, and confidence to ask the right questions.
Every company has a deep pool of brainpower, and as a leader it’s your role to tap into it. This book shows you how to do that.
Read a sample (PDF)An introduction to the book
What are people saying about the book?
As… an executive coach, [who] previously spent many years in journalism, I truly value the power of good questions. I’d love more leaders to tap into this, and this book is the best I have read for showing why and how.
~ Kerensa Jennings (BT Group Director, Data Platforms)
Source: Amazon.co.uk
Essential holiday reading for all leaders.
~ Patrick Butcher (seasoned plc CFO and non-executive advisor)
Source: GoodReads.com
Very well structured and easy to follow, with practical tips as well as interesting anecdotes. A great read for anyone, at any level, of a business.
~ Richard
Source: Amazon.co.uk
An insightful read, to say the least: it bursts with thought-provoking stories and anecdotes that will reshape your understanding of business, as well as practical points you can implement immediately.
~ EnterpriseAlumni Book Club
Source: LinkedIn.com
A whistle-stop tour through processes that lead to clear thinking and conducting business better.
~ Anjli Raval, Financial Times Management Editor
Source: FT.com
Brilliant book. Full of interesting insights that are readily doable in any business context.
~ Alan
via Amazon.co.uk
This book is a rare find. A gem in content, style and impact. It is a business book that is a page-turner.
~ Roger Source: Amazon.co.uk
It's a highly readable, short book that I find myself dipping back into frequently. It's also beautifully designed throughout. I highly recommend it, for yourself or as a gift for a business book enthusiast.
~ Helen Beedham
Source: Amazon.co.uk
The writing flows with ease, so you don’t feel like you are reading a business book. There are some great stories and anecdotes that they tell, and their framework is insightful. Buy some Post-It notes as you’ll be tabbing every page, as I did.
~ May
Source: Amazon.co.uk
Really enjoyed reading... Great lessons for anyone working in any arena - make the most of and listen to the asset that is the people you have chosen to work with - and don't stop asking questions!
~ Lindsey
Source: Amazon.co.uk
I really loved the book. Lots of nuggets that I can take forward into my leadership role.
~ Sarah Rapson (Deputy CEO and Executive Director, Financial Reporting Council and SID, North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust)
Source: Email
This is an entertaining and readable book that provides insights that can be applied by any business leader. Even adopting a few of the ideas in this book will justify its purchase!
~ Roger Barker (Director of Policy and Corporate Governance, Institute of Directors)
Source: Email
This book was a steroid boost... [It] will give you increased confidence that you don’t need to power along on your own. You are smarter when you tap into the smarties around you.
Su Sehmer Source: The HR Director
Collective intelligence: what is it?
Collective intelligence is what happens when an organization’s overall intelligence is greater than the sum of its intellectual parts. It fuels the most enduringly successful businesses, helping them to grow while staying agile. In this book, you can learn why collective intelligence works and how to build it within your organization.
Read the blogEmbedding Collective Intelligence in your team
Our methodology, the Question Driven Insight™ (QDI) Principle, helps you build and sustain collective intelligence at scale in your organization.
Read about the QDI principleAbout the authors
Jennifer Sundberg and Pippa Begg are the co-founders of Board Intelligence. This mission-led board technology and advisory firm collaborates with more than 75,000 leaders across the FTSE 100, Fortune 500, and OMX 30.
After starting their careers in strategy consulting (Jen) and financial services (Pippa), the two met in 2009 at a coffee shop in London and started Board Intelligence together just a few months later. Today, they are award-winning entrepreneurs who regularly speak at conferences and events. They have been named EY London Entrepreneur of the Year and The Times Young Business Woman of the Year.
Read our storyFurther resources
How to turn critical thinking into a superpower
Deep, critical thinking is a skill we’re all capable of. And opportunities to hone it are hiding in plain sight in every business.
3 capabilities every business needs to move faster
Companies like LEGO and Amazon seem to break free from the trap of scale. Why are they able to stay agile and innovate at pace while their competitors get stuck in the red tape of bureaucracy?
Could Socrates have saved Kodak?
The folks who ran Kodak in the 1970s weren’t stupid. So why did they made one of the best-publicised mistakes in business history when they failed to capitalise on the digital camera that one of their researchers had invented?
Be more Apple, less Xerox: 4 tips to turn ideas into action
Why do we think of Xerox as “the photocopier people” rather than the birthplace of modern computing? Because great ideas don’t always float to the surface — even when that might change the world.