Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Every manager desires to have great teams around them collaborating together and running with the mission. Unfortunately, most of these teams have been built around decades-old ideas and practices made popular by companies that either no longer exist or haven't been relevant in years. But a new generation of teams has learned to do things differently--things like hiring the right person instead of the best person; focusing on one priority while leaving room to explore new ideas; creating an environment where people are comfortable dealing with the uncomfortable; and maximizing profit by not making it top priority. And this revitalized look at how teams should work in today's business is driving real growth in some of the world's most innovative firms.In Extreme Teams, sneak peeks into top companies and examine the teamwork experiments powering their results, including how:* Pixar's teams use constant feedback and debate to transform initially flawed films into billion-dollar hits* A culture of radical "freedom and responsibility" helps Netflix execute on the next big thing* Whole Food's super-autonomous teams embrace hard metrics and friendly competition to drive performance* Zappos fuels the weirdness and fun that sustains its success* And much more!From marketing to design to technology to product demand, everything has changed in business and will continue to do so. Why shouldn't the teams carrying out these changes undergo their own upgrades?

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction: Revolutionizing the Way We Work (p. 1)
• Chapter 1 Results and Relationships (p. 33)
• Chapter 2 Foster a Shared Obsession (p. 73)
• Chapter 3 Value Fit over Capabilities (p. 97)
• Chapter 4 Focus More, then Less (p. 117)
• Chapter 5 Push Harder, Push Softer (p. 141)
• Chapter 6 Take Comfort in Discomfort (p. 169)
• Chapter 7 Teams at the Extremes (p. 193)
• Acknowledgments (p. 213)
• Notes (p. 215)
• Index (p. 241)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Consultant Shaw (Trust in the Balance) focuses on extreme teams in businesses today. Companies are seen as a collection of teams, and those recruited are people who are "highly talented but also a unique fit with their unique cultures." Shaw examines the commonalities across successful teams. Leaders of new teams need to set the higher-level purpose of the group, set up the right priorities and metrics to define a group's success, foster productive working relationships, and ensure that goals are met. Examples include Whole Foods, where team members can vote out new members and team leaders compare their team's performance with other teams; Netflix's expectations of extraordinary performance from every employee where results matter-those who work hard but don't achieve results will leave Netflix; and the intense recruitment and hiring process at Zappos, with a screening process that starts with potential employees joining the online community Zappos Insiders. Further research on the topic is facilitated by an extensive list of chapter notes which lists bibliographical references. VERDICT Highly informative and recommended for practitioners, faculty, and students of business, this book should be part of assigned readings for undergraduate and graduate students of management.-Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Queens, NY © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

Extreme Teams provides a very informative look into the processes that make teams at firms such as Pixar and Alibaba so successful. Shaw shows how different team structures informed by an overarching corporate culture can help companies work maximally. By examining the wildly different practices at each company, he attempts to provide a framework for examining its culture and analyzing how to encourage productivity among work groups. The author spends a great deal of time describing many aspects of the cultures of vastly different companies. He explains how Netflix cultivates a culture of competition and that Zappos wants to create a familial atmosphere. Pixar encourages its workers but is more than willing to scrap projects and people who don't contribute. Patagonia is only for employees who want to change the world. Despite their differences, these companies are successful because they know how to encourage what works for them. Unfortunately, this book cannot provide a complete road map to follow for success. What unites most of these disparate companies is how unique their situations are. Though the narrative is well written, this is a poor reference book. Summing Up: Not recommended. --Alvin Dantes, independent scholar