Finally, a book on teamwork that doesn't sound like a motivational speech!
348867
They say Teamwork Makes the Dream Work. Unfortunately, teamwork can also cause nightmares. In The Keys To Collaboration: How to Build A Great Team or Fix the One You've Got, Lane Sherman provides practical and actionable guidance for success among teams. Many books on the subject of teamwork rely on broken metaphors or sports analogies. This book is for the busy professional who doesn't want to waste time reading such drivel, but wants some clear, no-nonsense direction.

With almost 20 years of professional experience working with both groups and teams, I can vouch for the value of this book. You will certainly find yourself referring to it again and again, especially if you collaborate with dynamic teams.

Full review here: http://blog.rochow.info/2015/08/the-keys-to-collaboration-review.html
1645101
This is my first exposure to the Poppendieck's writing. I found it very easy and quick to read with compelling content.  The topics are pertinent to software development and the ideas could be leveraged with all teams. The format of the book is great. Topics of interest, with inserts of "interviews" and case studies to further their implementation examples and drive the points home. Besides, who doesn't love a good case study? They are relate-able, contain practical examples and the lessons learned are repeatable for those teams and others.

Recommend this book for all team members to read.
3503196
This is a great book and worth reading if you work in a team setting. It applies to any organization. The Five Dysfunctions was given to me by business associate. I read it and found the information very useful, especially in a leadership setting. I subsequently purchased copies for the Leadership Team. Everyone read it without the normal complaints. In fact, several said it was one of the easiest business books they have ever read. We used the content for an offsite discussion. It opened up a lot of "unsaids" and helped our team work towards a more productive and effective working relationship. Lencioni hits the nail on the head to start with Trust (the first Dysfunction). He accurately explains that this area must be addressed first.

I especially like the Team Assessment on pages 192 and 193 (15 easy to fill out questions). The book is worth it for this tool alone. Our initial Team Assessment did not score as well as I had hoped - it was a much needed wake up call.  After a lot of discussion and effort, we have made progress by working on the 5 Dysfunctions.

Six months later, we have improved our score. More important, we have improved our ability to function well as a team. The Five Dysfunctions is a useful catalyst to help improve team effectiveness but you have to be willing to work on it - not in one meeting, in every meeting. The book provides a common language that facilitates communication and provides five simple areas to focus on.
2273790
You know what they say about finding good help? Whenever I tried to assemble a team for any project it always tended to devolve into a chaos of me trying to command people and then just doing whatever they pleased.

So I'd decided to do some training and read up on some suggested material after my last failed team endeavor,  and after reading a few books about managing a team,  this one really helped.

It presents the ideas in a clean manner and I nearly never found myself confused,  I think the information I learned will definitely come in handy a next time I have to lead a team.
594199
I have spent most of my professional career teaching organizational leadership to embrace the principles laid out in "Patients Come Second".  What often seems common-sensical to me about the how and why of leadership, turns out to be a mystery to organizations who don't get it.  More importantly, they get stuck in "this is how we have always done things" mindset and lose their will to take risks, innovate, create, and explore the possibilities that there is a better way.  What I love about the book is they don't just talk cerebrally about these things.  Britt and Paul give REAL examples of HOW you can engage and connect to your people.  The list is long.  These ideas are not unique to their industry or organization--they are best practices that can be used by anyone.  I encourage anyone who is tasked with leading others to not just read the book but take away ideas that they will implement in their organization.
219514
This book was recommended to me by a friend, and was a very interesting read.  I'm not a teacher, but I do manage a team of young adults in their 20's.  The book was recommended on the basis of just getting a team engaged.  I found a lot of the book to be insightful, and started to actually utilize the tips in the book in my team meetings.  It's a great read! I have less meetings with eyes glazing over now! Having a team and mentoring young adults in their career I would have NEVER thought I needed to actually get them engaged.  Just need to get them to do their work!  If it was only that easy!  This is going to be a book I keep as a reference guide.  I have a few spots highlighted, and folded to refer back to when doing my weekly team meetings.
3570746
Finally, a book without funny characters and parables. One with excellent content that can be applied. QBQ! not only made me

AWARE of the need for more personal accountability in my life at home and at work, but it showed me HOW to do it. Refreshing!

Miller helped me understand that too often I play victim by asking questions like "Why doesn't my company train me more?" and "When is someone going to clarify my job?" I've learned to pause and simply ask "What can I do to develop myself?" and "How can I adapt to change?" This is a book that won't let you down. It took me an hour to read ... and then I read it again - twice. Each time I picked up something new. Really enjoyed it ... and then I bought copies for my team and now we're studying it together. Our training department is now using it for everyone! And I'm proud to say I found it first.
3876983
Dan Cable gave a great talk on motivation and leadership when I attended the Accelerated Development Programme at London Business School this winter. On that basis I was really looking forward to reading "Alive at Work" when it came out in March.

And I was surely not disappointed! The link between neuroscience and employee behaviour is very convincing and supported by numerous excellent examples. You finish this book wanting to approach your own leadership in a totally different way - finding ways to activate your employees seeking systems, clarifying "purpose" and listening to their ideas.

The book is also easy and fun to read and difficult to put down when started.

Highly recommended!
3111148
I have been working with and training teams for over a decade. Much of the information in this book is not new to me - but it's terrific to see it all in one place. There are no tips the author has missed here regarding the creation and management of successful teams, and it's refreshing to have them all in one comprehensive resource. There is also some new information here, even for a seasoned team leader, most noteably how to manage virtual teams and how teams can utilize social networking technology. On top of all of this, the writing style is accessible - friendly and professional at once. This volume will be a valuable resource for anyone who wishes to deepen their working relationships and to attain the highest levels of productivity and loyalty from their team members. I would definetely use this book as a text when doing team training in the future.
994289
I really enjoyed and got a lot out of The War on Boring. It's full of actionable ideas to improve your communication skills. After giving the book to several colleagues, I hope that the quality of presentations start to improve at work!
2151983
In Uplifting Leadership, the team of authors take the reader inside a number of businesses, sports teams, and communities that have achieved success because their leaders have an ability to do five things: identify and articulate an inspiring dream, that is coherently connected to what the organization was best in the past, pursue that dream without ruining the company, foster innovation and improvement, use metrics and measuring devices that matter to determine progress towards the goal, and foster a teamwork atmosphere that pulls people through change rather than pushing them through it.

I think the really good thing about this book is that while it doesn't necessary tell us anything the reader could not have intuitively guessed, the variety of organizations spotlighted is broader than other leadership books. Most people in my view are better able to identify with the small business down the street than a Fortune 500 company. In this way, this becomes a leadership book for everyone, rather than a book that touts a bunch of mega corporations and tacks on the less than believable phrase "and you can do it too" as though they suddenly remembered they have to sell books to the general public.

Uplifting Leadership is a quick read that has a little something for everyone from the conventional business type to the international sports fan that is far more practical than most conventional leadership texts.
4913144
I know how important leadership is to the success of any group and yet I didn't have a methodical, clear and consise way of teaching the players/leaders on my team what it takes and what it means to be a leader.  I used this book extensively this past year and it is the first time that I felt our team leaders had the information they needed to be effective....and they were!  Jeff's book will be used by my program as long as I'm a coach.
3391576
This has been one of the best books I've read on teamwork, leadership, management. It shows the real dysfunctions we have and offers solutions in a story form; makes it easy to follow and digest.
I would recommend to anyone.
3220442
This, obviously, is not a book that you read cover to cover once and your done.  It is far more of a field guide.  While I could argue some of the phrases (perhaps most) are obvious... that does not decrease the value of the book for me, it increased it.  You see, I refer to this book when I need to have the "hard conversation" with a colleague.  And those conversations are not about fancy phrases or word showmanship.  It is about delivering clear, concise thoughts, in a way that is supportive.

This book delivers on all the promises it makes.  I have it at my office, at the ready.  Any time a hard conversation is about to occur I review it (even jotting down a few notes on my notepad) and get the conversation rolling.

I feel this is must have for anyone who manages employees or is in HR.  5 stars!
4175355
I bought this book on Thursday, started reading Friday evening, and read through until Sunday evening. The problem is, the book is so motivating that during stretch breaks from reading I made two trips to Home Depot and built a sun/rain shelter for upcoming outside carpentry!
The really unique thing about this book, I believe, is the conversational tone the author uses to engage and instruct readers. While the topics are an eclectic collection of skills, the narrative places them in context - competence in skills, relationships, and responsibilities. What struck me, after I finished the book and was reminiscing on it, is that the tone is quite familiar and comfortable, but I couldn't place it. Then I realized I was hearing wisdom from my years in Special Forces. Senior Chief Van Orden counsels his readers much like a senior SEAL NCO counsels subordinates, colleagues, and junior officers - and, I daresay, the occasional senior officer. He is always respectful and invites dialog, and through this dialog he engages the reader in unforgettable life lessons.
Buy this book for yourself, and for the men and women in your life who will profit from putting down the smart phone and embracing the realities of self-reliance and teamwork.
And you won't even have to sign a counseling statement!
4628671
Lisa does a remarkably creative job of helping us find this laser focus in her book. She presents some very unique things that we often don't think of when we talk about leadership. Items like:

  * Huddling Up

  * Don't Multi-Task

  * Have fun

  * Relax to Energize

Think about it. Doesn't "Connecting today's reality and tomorrow's goal with the straightest, most direct line of effort and resources" sound like a great definition of leadership? Don't these 4 things make it easier to connect the dots for managers and employees alike? I sure think so!

For me, the best part of Lisa's book was the stories she included in every chapter. Every chapter had a story that I was able to relate to in my job as a manager, and in my personal life as well. For instance, as a manager and a leader, I've had times where I felt the need to multi-task to get more done, and yes, I succumbed to the pressure. I do that from time, and I'm sure that happens to you too.

After multi-tasking for much of one recent day, I looked back at my day and realized this was one of my LEAST productive days in recent history. LEAST productive because I multi-tasked, and didn't get ANYTHING done. I got a lot of things started, but not much really done.

Conversely, some days I have done as Lisa suggested, I've "chunked" and set aside time during my week to focus on certain things I had to get done, and lo and behold, I got those things done! I do this every 6 months with performance reviews, I strive do this every week with my Monday morning look ahead, I do this Friday afternoon with my look back at the week, and I try to do this anytime I have new application testing to do.

Am I successful 100% of the time? Absolutely not. I'm a manager, for heaven's sake, and people need attention, my attention, often RIGHT NOW, and it can't wait. And I'm glad to interrupt my task and focus on my most important task, the growth and development of my people. But I do try to put these chunks back on my calendar so I can still do them.

The other chapters I mentioned were wonderfully laid out and explained, and they can help you take your leadership from shotgun spread to laser focus if you apply the things you learn in Lisa's book.

I encourage you to pick up your own copy of Focus Like a Laser Beam right now. Then, head over to Lisa's blog at Management Craft, sign up for her newsletter, and achieve more than you could if you tried to do so on your own. Lisa's like your personal coach, showing you the most effective ways to crank it up and lead like a laser beam, with the focus and determination you need.
1520622
I loved how author had distilled hard won wisdom and long known secrets (which aren't widely discussed) to compact package. I didn't feel bored, there wasn't too much manifestation, but topics were very much down to earth and concentrated to what really matters. I have worked as scrum master and team leader and way too often seen that individuals, teams and management really don't align well: here we have lot to do as industry, but promise is that you can have motivated workers, satisfied customers, and make more money than with traditional management models.