Ron Friedman

In today's workplace, teams represent the instrument of enacting change. Yet anyone who's served on a team realizes that team dynamics are key to maintaining a healthy atmosphere to make those contributions. Many books suggest ways to improve teams, but relatively few of them are based on critical studies to discern if their ideas actually work.

Ron Friedman's book, in contrast, begins as a study. He identifies top-performing teams in terms of output and nicknames them "superteams." Then he show more compares them with other teams that don't reach that level. He asks them the same questions in the survey about what social traits make their team tick. This book analyzes the results of this evidence-based investigation.

Many of the results are not entirely surprising in my experience, but they do surprise at points. Overall, superteams get more work done that betters each other. They find meaningful work that improve the group over time. Extrinsic rewards are not the key to team performance but rather intrinsic responsibility to each other. The superteams work for each other as much as they work for the manager.

To keep from being a mere academic analysis, Friedman investigates these traits with stories from many industries to illustrate his insights. Guns and Roses, writers of top TV show, Watson and Crick in research, and basketball teams all contribute inspirational success stories filling these pages. The combination makes for an eminently readable book.

The biggest takeaway for me is the courage to speak the truth with each other. It's easy to worry about offending people's sensibilities too much instead of creating a high-trust environment where honesty reigns. Trust enables teams to work together without fearing little missteps. That trust is garnered by a common purpose and a common direction towards a common meaningful purpose.

Overall, I love the evidence-based approach this book offers. It sifts through the many hypotheses in the literature to identify the key insights that actually work. I wish more books would take this studied approach. If you're looking for a book on teamwork filled with ideas tested to work, Friedman's Superteams is for you. show less

This book might become as impactful as the author, Ron Friedman's other book, “The Best Place to Work.” In fact, if business leaders take what they find here to heart, it will surely supersede his previous book. His premise is simple, what makes a “superteam,” or a high-performance team, different from other, average teams?

Initially, he writes about how superteams get more things done, and man, much of the research here flies in the face of much of the prevailing, high-communication, show more technology-saturated workplace perspective. Instead, much of what makes superteams so great is how they trust each other to get things done, and get out of each other's way. Minimizing distractions is a massive part of this, and as much as I suspected it, I did not know the difference in performance was SO stark.

This is an incredibly valuable read for anyone in business, leadership or not, and even for those who want to personally improve their personal performance. It turns out that many of the things we think of as tools are actually poisonous distractions that limit our capability to reach our full potential. show less

Night Shines as Day is the story of the Feldstein twins, Danny and Dooney, and their older brother Joel, "aka Jo-El", who would like to be Superman. The boys belong to a Jewish family that is prominent and respected in a small, Northern Ohio suburb in the 1950's. The private faces of their parents, Howard and Faygie Feldstein, however, are somewhat different than the friendly, upbeat ones they display in public. At home, Howard Feldstein expresses the rage that is a souvenir of his own show more unhappy childhood. As he uses sarcasm, name-calling, belts, and fists on his children, his wife, Faygie, turns away, dreaming of a happier, more accomplished life. Both parents tell their children they are lucky, and everything is just as it should be. The book, which traces the lives of the boys and their parents, is written in a narrative voice that is clear-eyed, fresh, insightful, and wide-ranging as the emotions it conveys. It takes the reader to Texas, Arizona, New York City, and on a journey through trauma. The portraits of family life, characters, and the first-generation Jewish neighborhood in the post-war boom are as unique and vivid as you will find anywhere. The author's description of the feelings of children whose parents say one thing, and do another is a perfect bulls-eye. The ending is a moving, tour de force declaration of redemption. Night Shines as Day is a rich, daring, sad, funny, and ultimately wise novel that packs an emotional wallop. Don't miss it! show less

Engaging discussion of multiple facets of teams and teamwork (including meetings, time management, and communication) informed by academic studies, survey data, and reports on successful teams. Keeps you thinking about and reflecting on your own experiences and encourages thoughtful consideration of how you might improve yourself and your teams.

I figured this would be interesting to read and pass on but instead I found myself sharing bits from it so frequently while reading that I'll be show more keeping it as a resource. An easy read with practical applications. show less