The great book on managing team dynamics
592487
The great book on managing team dynamics, with many great practical collaboration and coaching tips.
The book is dealing with Tribes, defined as a group between 20 and 150 people, passing simple testwhether you saw someone of one of your tribes walking down the street, you'd stop and say Hello!. Authors classify tribes into five stages, which are summarized by mottos:
1: Life sucks
2: My life sucks
3: I am great[, and you are not]
4: We are great[, and they are not]
5: Life is great
The main focus of authors is transition from late Dilbertian stage 2 to Crowd of competitive professional of stage 3, and especially next step to Collaborative teams of stage 4. Interestingly, the diagnostics is based not on what people believe or personal psychological characteristics. Contrary, they use language talked (I at stage 3, we at stage 4) and relationships patterns (dyads at stage 3 and triads at stage 4). Each chapter provides hints and tips for each stage, including transitions from one stage to another, stabilizing tribes at this stage, and living in this stage.
Overall, I find the book insightful, very nuanced, and at the same time very practical.
4167443
This is an excellent book. After having read it I went began observing my workplace carefully, it has given me a fresh and very useful way to look at organisations and teams and their functioning.  The three broad, and progressive ways that people think are well set out.  Most importantly it provides tools to understand people that seem to be a little different - those in the more advanced stages of how they think - and work with them in a way that draws out their capability.  The book can be comforting for your own thinking, and how grown up you might really be.  In my second read of some sections I gained much more from it after having looked at how practical situations could be interpreted.  This book has changed how I look at teams and appointments for people - a must read for all those senior managers who rely on the "thinking capability" of their teams for success.
4693675
I have several of Edward Lawler's previous books in my library including Corporate Boards and Rewarding Excellence and have always found his work insightful as well as extremely useful in my own managerial role.  His current book with Chris Worley entitled Management Reset: Organizing for Sustainable Effectiveness did not disappoint.

Lawler and Worley begin with the thesis that it is no longer enough for organizations to perform well financially.  They must also perform well socially and environmentally if they are to remain competitive in today's global economy.  The authors proceed to describe the principles and practices that management can use to move their organizations toward sustainable effectiveness, illustrating their approach with tangible examples from companies such as Starbucks and Netflix.  Topics range from leadership, organization design and reward systems to the role of corporate boards.

Management Reset is both highly readable and exceedingly useful.  But what sets this book apart from the majority of business books on the shelves today is that the strategies outlined are based not only on the authors' consulting experiences but also on solid research evidence.  In short, Management Reset is thought provoking and a timely addition to the management literature.  I whole heartedly recommend it!
2962791
This is a really insightful book. Using examples from his experience, I found myself identifying with many of the situations portrayed.
I was able to fill three pages of my own version Cliff Notes which now contains invaluable direction and practical ways to develop better relationship's with teams and subsequently lead much more effectively.
Highly recommended reading for anyone in buisiness.
721712
Each chapter is easy and fast to go through. It inspires people to be better team players! A must read for anybody working in any team.
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
4019965
I enjoy the way how it is explained the work of management and the tips offered. I must read for all people who likes teamwork
340167
I don't play team sports. I don't enjoy watching team sports on TV. But I truly enjoyed Coach Urban Meyers book and found it to be insightful, direct, and highly motivating.

"Above the Line:  Lessons in Leadership and Life from a Championship Season" contains a number of valuable lessons illustrated by how Coach Meyer and the Ohio State University football team learned to work together through some serious setbacks and difficulties to ultimately win the 2014 College Football Playoff Championship.

The integrated system of leadership that Meyer proposes has, as its foundation, the model of Above the Line behaviors as opposed to Below the Line behaviors. Meyer asserts that, The simple truth is that getting and staying Above the Line is the foundation of success in anything you do --- work, school, football, and life. The harder truth is that getting and staying Above the Line is not easy. (p. 27)

No, Im not going to tell you, in this reading report, what the Above the Line behaviors are, youll have to buy and read the book for yourself. However, I will tell you that Chapter 2 delineates The R Factor. It is described in a deceptively simple, but elegant, equation. E + R = O.  Event + Response = Outcome. Meyer asserts that we cant control E, but we can choose what R will be, thus significantly affecting the O, and he helps the reader consider various ways that this can be done.

The book suggests ways that leaders can create an Above the Line culture resulting in productive responses to events and, in turn, to positive, and even exceptional, outcomes.

Chapter 6, entitled Power of the Unit, is a must read for leaders who have more direct reports than they can work with effectively. It offers simple, yet productive, suggestions for how to leverage your influence throughout the organization.

In the final chapter of his book, Coach Meyer asserts,
A leader is someone who inspires and empowers people to get to places that they wouldnt be able to reach otherwise, sure, but you also need to have people who are willing to be led. You have to have people who have high character and the courage and strength and resilience to push through pain and fight off frustration, who want to be elite at what they do, and who understand that Above the Line behavior is what is going to get them there. (pp. 235, 236)

This is a book that I wish that I had read years ago. However, as Meyer states on p. 237, Every twenty-four hours is a fresh opportunity to get better.
2066973
Great book especially for new managers or seasoned managers who are making adjustments with new team members, assignments, etc.
3377133
I am responsible for a large team and we are under increasing pressure to get things done and deliver results in a constantly changing environment. We have implemented standard management approaches including agile in recent years with significant standardization and training and so on. In the last year or so the pace has just gone crazy and the list of challenges and issues keeps increasing. I was intrigued by the title of this book and wondered what could be the next generation. I thought more buzzwords about disruption, etc. but this book is different and has changed my perspective. As I have been digging into the book over the last few weeks, I was surprised how accurately the book characterizes todays DANCE (Dynamic-Ambiguous-Nonlinear-Complex-Emergent) environment and the challenges we are facing. DANCE is similar to VUCA (Volatile-Uncertain-Complex-Ambiguous) which has become a popular term in the last couple of years. According to the author DANCE is the evolution of VUCA and calls-out non-linear and emergent aspects which are not emphasized in VUCA. The book clearly describes how the game has changed but we are still using a lot of the management ideas which are based on 100-year old thinking. It does not only illustrate the problem, but is packed with insights, and detailed application steps and relevant tips and techniques.

The book is well organized, it describes the DANCE world challenges and then decodes the DNA of Strategy Execution. Each of the elements of the DNA is a chapter  Strategy, Execution, Connect, Governance, Measure, Learn, Change, Simplify and Balance. Whether it is strategy or execution, or governance, or measurement, or change management, each topic delves into the details and offers the latest approaches along with application ideas and tips and tools in a succinct manner. Each chapter ends with a checklist of how to develop intelligence in each of the areas, along with key takeaways. Over the last few weeks this book has become our strategy execution playbook. There is so much in this book that can be applied at the organizational level, as well as individual project and program levels. I highly recommend this book for anybody who is involved in getting things done, and executing strategy from executives to PMO leaders, as well as project and program managers to be better equipped to deal with todays challenges.
2242275
This is a great book on how to build, maintain, and work in some of the best teams I've ever been in. It's also short enough to be worth reading even if you don't need the advice right away. I highly recommend it, even if you're only somewhat interested in the topic.

The book is written to be practical rather than rigorous. There are a lot of places where the authors talk about how to deal with typical engineers but don't spend any time describing cases where their advice won't work. They typically state their assumptions near the beginning of each section, however, and it's easy to tell when they're leaving things out. This certainly helped make the book short, so I appreciate what they did. It may leave room for a sequel as well.

There are a lot of short examples in the form of stories. These are helpful, but be warned that they're written from the point of view of a Google engineer. Both authors work at Google. I work at Google as well, so it made me feel as though they were talking about my team. I don't think this will confuse anyone since the terminology used at Google is very close to the terminology everyone else uses. However, when they talk about a "technical lead" in a team, they're talking about something very specific at Google. Just be aware that, if they talk about people reading their email during meetings, they're talking about Googlers. At previous companies that I worked for, I might have checked Facebook, read some documentation, or just left. The differences are slight, but if they seem a bit specific, be aware that they're talking about Google.
2478351
I enjoyed this book about teams, it provided very good overal information on all of the different stages teams go through from start to finish.  The book also included things that must be done, and things to avoid.
This book will prepare the reader well to tackle challenging tasks with their teams.  It will help determine what should be done individually, as a work group or as a team.  Something I have personally experienced myself that they covered really well is the need to define the projet well as you assemble your teams, and also to define measures of success, roles, communcations methods and decision rules to be used by the team leader - Team leaders will find it very useful.
Also a small section on vitual teams working together remotely which I think could have been more extensive, but still covered all of the needs of a virtual team, including the need to meet face to face at the start of the project to build the teamwork and cooperation spirit of the team.
What I did not like?  The main thing is that the book looked at teams mostly from the point of view of a large organization.  Not much talk about small teams operating from small to medium enterprises, and how smaller and more flexible teams can also bring great benefits.
Comments and your feel about this book?  email me to discuss.
Thanks
A very good book on teams overall.
2810904
I especially like the perspective of changing the team from within by starting with yourself. While I didn't find it ground breaking, I would still recommend this book for anyone interested in team dynamics or wanting to learn techniques for changing dysfunctional teams.
611854
This book is a must-read for managers. It describes the behavioral science behind performance improvement, and shows how to deploy behavior change technology to improve bottom-line organizational performance. The first 6  chapters explain behavior principles and tactics such as pinpointing,  antecedents, consequences, shaping, and providing feedback through coaching  (including executive coaching). Many examples drawn from Dr. Braksick's  extensive consulting experience bring these principles to life, and several  appendices provide practical advice and guidelines on using them in  organizations. Chapter 5 on Feedback and Coaching is an especially  excellent "how-to" guide explaining how managers can use feedback  effectively to target key behaviors that will produce key results. Chapters  7 & 8 detail common organizational problems (implementation failures,  and corporate challenges like mergers, ERP implementations, retention and  succession plans) and show how behavioral science can be applied to handle  these problems. In sum, this lively, easy-to-read book does an excellent  job describing behavior principles and how to improve performance with them  in the real world of daily organizational life. Managers at all levels can  learn practical things they can do to improve the bottom line by learning  about behavior, and how to change it so that it produces those key results  necessary for organizational success.
1331886
Great book, highly recommended! We are a startup business with 10 employees currently. This book builds a great framework for how successful teams work together. I've come to realize it's all about the team, regardless of how good your product or service is, if you don't have a strong team to execute, you'll never succeed. This book fills in the gaps!!!
2919193
This book is a "must read" for all leaders, whether in corporate America, non-profits or the military. I've been fortunate to have led many passionate people in business - Kraft Foods, Nextel and now at the National Association of Corporate Directors, as well as Marines in challenging circumstances, and Taylor Kiland's and Peter Fretwell's book is a great refresher for focusing on the core attributes for building winning teams.  Well done Peter and Taylor!

I especially embrace the chapters "The Power of We: The Value of a Social Network" and "Don't Piss Off the Turnkey: Focus on What You Can Control."  Leadership comes from multiple perspectives, and this fabulous collection of great stories from many who have sacrificed more than most can imagine is well worth your time.

Thanks Taylor and Peter for your investment of time to share with us. Here's to building winning, sustainable businesses through empowered teams!

Henry Stoever
4738189
The author uses a story to teach the reader steps a leader can take to transform a dysfunctional work team into a successful one. The story format helps the reader visualize typical workplace dysfunctions and how to overcome them. The book is full of practical advice as well as exercises that are easy to implement to improve any department's teamwork.