Notes on
Fischer, B. & Boynton, A. (2005). Harvard Business Review, July-August 2005, p 116-123
- Intro p 117
- Whiz Kids – saved Ford
- Seymour Cray – first commercial supercomputer
- Virtuoso teams – composed of elite experts
- Unique in ambition, intensity, esprit, results-driven
- Risks considered high
- Default mode = mediocrity
- V-teams use different rules
- Examples of v-teams accomplished goals and changed business and industry in process
- collaboration impt for leaders of v-teams
- Assemble the Stars p 118
- People who are able are assigned to teams
- In v-teams, “thinking is more impt than doing” p 119
- v-team members push each other
- they love challenge
- v-teams must be composed of great people
- Your Show of Shows’ staff greatest comedy staff of all time
- high-energy contests
- tension among group members
- “Nasty tugs-of-war”
- Build the Group Ego p 119
- Traditional teams are cooperative
- v-teams are individual-based
- v-teams transform into powerful team with shared identity later
- Kjell Sunde assembled best technical people
- Goal was to understand and prevent Bloc 34
- Each technologist was confident
- Sunde celebrated selected v-team
- gave access to resources
- Introduced teamwork pattern
- Split group into half solving problems
- transformed into “one great totality” p 120
- Make Work a Contact Sport p 120
- traditional teams distant
- v-teams need physical contact
- passionate dialogue impt
- experimentation/rapid-prototyping
- pressure-cooker
- dedicated team room
- informal atmosphere
- beware intense pressure vis-a-vis project duration
- Challenging the Customer p 122
- v-teams believe customers want more
- West Side Story risky
- success = vindication
- Norsk Hydro
- customers were equity market analysts
- thoughtful explanations minimized market erosion
- Herd the Cats p 122
- traditional team leaders want consensus and compromize
- v-team leaders must be def and forceful
- cannot constraint expresiveness
- must trust talents
- balance individual attention with demands and timelines of projects
- be a perfectionist
- Robbins pushed the WSS cast
- foster individual and creative freedom
- contests of ideas
- exploit time
- deadline pressure requires focus
- stamp out mediocrity