Extreme Teams: Why Pixar, Netflix, Airbnb, and Other Cutting-Edge Companies Succeed Where Most Fail

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?

ROBERT BRUCE SHAW is a consultant specializing in organizational and team performance. An in-demand speaker, he is the author of Trust in the Balance and Leadership Blindspots.