Bryce G. Hoffman

I have three problems with this book:
1. The author tries really hard to sell "red teaming" throughout the book. "Look, how awesome it is!" seems to be the sentiment for every chapter and every example. It reads like a pitch to hire the author as a consultant.
2. Not enough depth in the instructions.
3. Too many US military history and stories.

I would love to implement red teaming, and the book gave me some ideas, but left me with more questions than I should have had by the end of the book.

The author provides the tools and techniques needed for teams, departments, or organizations to conduct a red teaming analysis. Red teaming is a process for stress testing plans and strategies by uncovering hidden assumptions, biases, and blind spots. Hoffman clearly explains the origins of red teaming, what it is, and the psychology behind it. He then describes in detail how to start a red team and the various techniques to be employed in the process. The book is written in a style that show more will keep the reader’s interest while providing practical tools and methods that can be applied in any organization. Required reading for anyone responsible for keeping an organization competitive in an environment of rapid change. show less

The return of Ford Motors to national prominence and relative health. The most interesting thing to me here is how workers/unions appear as burdens to be shed. That left the hagiographic account of Ford’s CEO with a little of the flavor of “the operation was a success, but the patient died.” It was also funny to read how Ford negotiated its way out of a lot of its retiree health care promises, then Ford executives got huffy that the other big two carmakers were getting federal money show more they wouldn’t have to pay back—they saw the promises they broke as completely justified, but others were egregious ne’er-do-wells. show less

This suffers from the usual one-sidedness of business books. Everyone kisses up to their boss. You can easily tell who talked to the author, and who didn't. Hoffman brings zero skepticism to his reporting, even accepting at face value Ford's ridiculous assertions about the cost of Mulally's private jets.

If you can read past this, though, it is an interesting story; and despite the usual flaws it is above average for the genre.

> Mulally piled in with his press aide, Karen Hampton; Ford show more Americas group controller Bob Shanks; and John Kostiuk, the head of Ford’s motor pool. Bodyguards traveled in two other vehicles ahead and behind Mulally’s Escape. The inconspicuous motorcade spent ten hours on the road, stopping only for bathroom breaks. … Given the security escort the trip required, it probably would have been cheaper to take the Gulfstream. But Ford had learned the hard way that appearance counted for more than reality inside the Beltway. That morning, the automaker announced that it was selling all of its corporate jets. show less