in mba

Virtuoso Teams

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