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Wisdom of Teams
 
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Wisdom of Teams [Abridged] [Audio Cassette]

Jon R. Katzenbach (Author), Douglas K. Smith (Author), Martin Bookspan (Narrator)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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From Publishers Weekly

The importance of teams has become a cliche of modern business theory, but few have a clear idea of what it means. In this new edition of their best-selling primer, Katzenbach and Smith try to impart some analytical rigor to the concept. Drawing on their experience as management consultants and a plethora of case studies at companies like Burlington Northern and Motorola, they cover such topics as the optimal size of teams, coping with turnover in team personnel and nurturing "extraordinary teams" rather than "pseudo-teams." Reacting against the touchy-feely interpersonal bent of discourse on teams, they emphasize hard-nosed principles of "performance, focus, and discipline," over the softer concerns of "communication, openness and 'chemistry.'" Teams, they argue, gel and achieve not by developing "togetherness," but by tackling and surmounting specific "outcome-based" challenges ("eliminate all late deliveries...within 90 days" rather than the vaguer "develop a plan for improving customer satisfaction."). Some of the authors' recommendations are reasonably precise and practical, but too many are nebulous truisms ("keep the purpose, goals, and approach relevant and meaningful") or weighed down by turgid consultant-ese ("integrating the performance goals of formal, structural units as well as special ad hoc group efforts becomes a significant process design challenge"). The case studies are better written, but it's not clear that these inspiring anecdotes of team triumph add up to a systematic doctrine. The book leaves the impression that teams ultimately just have to learn by doing.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

The authors, who are both consultants, conducted extensive interviews with companies to discover how successful teams are created and sustained. The result is not a research report but a collection of minicase histories and commentary. Some of the findings: Teams respond to performance challenges and not to managers' exhortations for more "teamwork." Organizations committed to high-performance standards and willing to modify individual accountability requirements experience the greatest success with teams. Successful team leaders are not necessarily those with remarkable leadership qualities. Instead, they "simply need to believe in their purpose and their people." Team leaders do real work, remove obstacles, and build trust and confidence. Recommended for larger public libraries and special business collections.
- Andrea C. Dragon, Coll. of St. Elizabeth, Convent Station, N.J.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Practical yet uninteresting, Mar 12 2003
By 
Jamey (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wisdom Of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization (Paperback)
I am a Masters of Human Resource Management Student at Rutgers, and I felt that the book was very practical and could be used as a great reference guide, and I suppose that for what the book was written. However the writing was so commonplace, uneventful, and repetitive I found myself skipping paragraphs, furthermore, I felt that the case studies were not good examples of the points the book was trying to make.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Instructions for building block of future organizations, Aug 11 1997
By A Customer
This review is from: Wisdom Teams (Paperback)
Wisdom of Team (WT) is a delightful book that balances both descriptive and prescriptive information about teams in organizations. This book DOES NOT fall prey to using sports analogies as the basis for examples and suggestions. Instead, the authors rely on examples from Fortune 500 companies and their own experiences.


As I read the examples in WT, I enjoyed reflecting on my own experiences on high performance teams. Based on my experiences, I found the authors' analysis insightful and accurate.


Several chapters include checklists that provide a quick summary of key learnings. These checklists make the book a valuable reference tool when creating, developing, and ending teams. Good read for managers at all levels of an organization.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Why and How to Work in Teams, Dec 8 2003
By 
beesquare (FALLS CHURCH, VA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Wisdom Of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization (Paperback)
A good balance of case studies, step-by-step procedures, and advice for people who want or need to work in teams but are accustomed to working in organizational "stovepipes" or matrix organizations. People who have successful experience working in Integrated Product Teams and Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) Environment will find the principles and processes familiar. This book dates back to 1992 and reads a lot like a Harvard Business Review article, only of book length. The Department of Defense used this book as a source reference for their IPPD guide, and Integrated Product Teams have "taken off" since that time and are integral to DoD acquisition programs today. Nevertheless, this book is still worthwhile. The DoD did a thorough job of taking the "how to" information from this book and expanding on it to great detail. The mistake they made was to leave out the "why." The case studies, omitted by DoD, really put you in the middle of successful teams to the point that they will make you want to be on a team like the ones in the book. That is the missing element when converting an organization to a team-based work environment... step by step instructions are not enough. To succeed, the team members have to want to work in this difficult but rewarding manner. That is the main value of this book: it puts you in the picture and makes you want to succeed at teaming.
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