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

Review\n..".great insight...gives ideas for those firms that would like to hire the best employee and motivate them to perform at the highest level they can." --PM World Journal\n..".takes a very balanced, shockingly brutal look at the benefits, costs and potential pitfalls of utilizing high-performance teams...one of the few books that I have seen to directly address teams realistically." -PM World Journal\n..".provides a very informative look into the processes that make teams at firms such as Pixar and Alibaba so successful." --Choice\n"Teamwork requires more than the occasional pizza party or rock-climbing expedition. Extreme Teams looks at the team-building practices of high-performing companies to identify what works best." --Accounting Today\nThis book takes a revitalized look at how teams should work in today’s business is driving real growth in some of the world’s most innovative firms.
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 Unfortunately, most of these teams have been built around outdated practices made popular by companies that either no longer exist or haven’t been relevant in years.
However, 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.
In Extreme Teams, take a peek 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
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?\nFrom the Inside Flap\nGreat achievements are almost always the work of great teams. But most leaders rely on decades-old ideas and practices about teams developed by companies that have lost their edge. Times change and so must our teams. Those who cling to outdated views of teamwork and team building will be left behind. So what do you need to do to create a team that can successfully face the challenges of today's world? To answer that question, Robert Bruce Shaw examines the work practices of innovative high-growth companies such as Whole Foods, Pixar, and Netflix. These firms became ground-breaking leaders in their industries, in part, by boldly rewriting the rules of teamwork. Extreme Teams provides a detailed analysis of how the leaders at these companies think and operate-and, in particular, describes their approaches for creating high energy teams that deliver extraordinary results. You will learn in Extreme Teams - How Alibaba strives to hire the right people-not the best people - Why co-workers determine if you stay or go at Whole Foods - The benefit to Airbnb of letting its employees determine the projects on which they work - How employees at Patagonia have nearly complete control over their work and play hours - What Pixar does to avoid repeating what worked for it in the past - Why Netflix rewards average performance with a generous severance package - What will get you fired at Zappos-and it's not what you think Filled with success stories from some of the most exciting firms operating today, Extreme Teams will push you to think about teams in new ways. It is filled with pragmatic suggestions that you can use to move your team to the next level of engagement and performance. This is the book for those who want to go bey