Customer Reviews

Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong (SAGE Series in Interpersonal Communication)

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4 star:		(1)
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Larson and LaFasto put their outstanding research into easy-to-understand language. The book is foundation reading for executives and team members who want to understand the key variables that spell success for teams. And it's an easy-reading 138 pages presented so anyone (5th grade reading level!) can understand their findings. I know the authors, and have the utmost respect for their scientific methodology and experience. We use the matching team/ leadership assessment and training program to help client organizations plan, build, and fix their teams. Really an excellent reader, and a foundation of our consulting practice.

These authors studied all different sorts of teams (everything from a Mount Everest expedition and a Notre Dame championship football teams to the group that invented Chicken McNuggets) in order to determine what they had in common. The book is highly readable and describes eight common principles that could be implemented to improve the function of any team. It is also full of interesting comments and stories from the study. I highly recommend the book for any team member (not only managers) since the book also clearly describes how the individal can influence the success of the entire team.

There's an enormous amount of reading material on teams and teamwork and this book is one of the best. Its highly rational approach condenses studies of high performing teams. The authors found eight common characteristics and explain in enough detail why they are important. They include excerpts from the leaders and teams they have studied. They also state that the two most common reasons for team failure are politics and personal agendas. They include a quote from Duke Drake: "The minute the politicians take over and start worrying about what's in it for me, you're dead in the water."

I have purchased several copies of TEAMWORK over the years. Most recently as a gift for a client who is the VP of HR in a large manufacturing company. I have found this study of teamwork to be the best and most practical discussion of what it really takes to make a team successful that I have come across in my 20 years as an executive coach. My clients are very interested in how to build more effective teams, and want to know what really works and what doesn't. The discoveries of Carl Larson and Frank LaFasto in their years of research have proven to be of great value to dozens of team I have coached - from small family-owned enterprises to Fortune 500 companies. For example, knowing that no team is likely to survive for long without a clear elevating goal, standards of excellence, and competent team members has been a critical initial lesson in many cases. And recognizing that early indications of a team in decline includes team members beginning to loose their unified commitment and when the collaborative climate fades - these insights have also proven to be of great value to many of the teams I have assisted. I have not found a clearer, more comprehensive explanation of how and why effective teams develop than Larson and LaFasto's presentation of the crucial eight characteristics.
Kenton R. Hill, CMC
Principal Consultant
KRH Consulting
[...]

This a great book about teamwork. I have many books but this is the most academic and yet useful book that I have found. I highly recommend this if you want to understand how to build a system of teamwork. It is the best book I have found out there on this subject.

This is probably the best book I've read on teamwork, and I've read dozens! In fact, I re-read it every year or so (it's a fairly quick read). Though the book appears dated, I like the fact that it is research-based, and the teams studied are extraordinarily diverse. The book identifies 8 conditions for team success beginning with a Clear, Elevating Goal and ending with Principled Leadership. The model is easy to understand because of the numerous examples used to illustrate points.

I've recommended the book to several colleagues, all of whom have agreed on its value.

Book arrived very fast, and brand new (partly because this book is not very useful). Recommend the seller a lot