Breakthrough teams for breakneck times unlocking the genius of creative collaboration

Break-through Teams for Breakneck Times can help any team reach its full potential, by applying the core principles and practicaltools in this useful guidebook.” —Rosabeth Moss KanterBes

ing that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service If legal advice or other expert assistance is re- quired, the services of a competent professional should be sought Vice President and Publisher: Cynthia A Zigmund

Editorial Director: Donald J Hull

Senior Acquisitions Editor: Jean Iversen Cook

Senior Project Editor: Trey Thoelcke

Interior Design: Lucy Jenkins

Cover Design: Scott Rattray Design

Cover Photo: Beau Regard/Masterfile

Typesetting: the dotted i

© 2001 by Lisa Gundry and Laurie LaMantia

Published by Dearborn Trade, a Kaplan Professional Company

All rights reserved The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gundry, Lisa K.,

DATE-Breakthrough teams for breakneck times : unlocking the genius of creative collaboration / Lisa Gundry, Laurie LaMantia.

9621, ext 4410, or write to Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc., 155 N Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60606-1719.

for Breakneck Times

“If committees were the curse of the machine age, creative

teams are the basis for victory in the information age

Break-through Teams for Breakneck Times can help any team reach its

full potential, by applying the core principles and practicaltools in this useful guidebook.”

—Rosabeth Moss KanterBestselling author of

Evolve! Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow

“If you believe in the power of teamwork, you will enjoy theten principles in this book The authors explore the impor-tance of teams in a refreshing way that is relevant in today’sfast-paced world They touch concepts that are applicable toleaders and teams in any organization.”

—Jack M GreenbergChairman and CEOMcDonald’s Corporation

“I am placing this in my well-referenced creativity tool kit.This book is loaded with recipes for the team seeking a newlevel of performance and satisfaction When you mix togetherthe appropriate ingredients (from the book), you are able toprovide the most important meal for the creatively starvedteam—breakfast!”

—Gail TateProject Management DirectorLucent Technologies, Inc

the creative talents of teams Breakthrough Teams for Breakneck

Times provides managers with simple but innovative tools to

optimize team creativity and performance These are principlesthat can be applied to project teams assembled together tosolve a problem or deliver a client solution or for permanentteams that want to take their performance to the next level.”

—Heather Bock, Ph.D

Manager, Executive Management Solutions TeamArthur Andersen

“It’s obvious that Laurie and Lisa have practiced innovation

in real world business environments as evidenced by theirshort stories and Tools You Can Use applications As a personwith primary responsibility for strategic development in myorganization, I found myself reading and taking a lot of notes.”

—George Babish

VP of Imagineering and Strategic DevelopmentYMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

“It is impossible these days for any organization to survivewithout a dynamic team to nurture and develop any endeavor.This book is a source of inspiration and guidance for the go-getter in all of us.”

—George ZaharoffChairman and Creative DirectorThe Zaharoff Companies

rating implies involvement and commitment with bility for tactical implementation and results It should be apositive experience, which brings out the best in people, andthe prerequisite is a positive attitude from all team members.The authors have developed an outstanding set of guidelines

accounta-to achieve successful results through collaborating Startingwith, if we really want collaboration, we need to get over themindset of getting people to do what we want them to do.”

—Tom HoweChairman of the BoardJays Foods

“The authors pave a pathway for team building that allows forcreative collaboration without placing limits on what a teamshould be This book provides tremendous insight into build-ing breakthrough teams and should be required reading forteam members at all levels.”

—Teresa LovelyManager–Financial ServicesInterlake Material Handling, Inc

“Collaboration is the essential nature of innovation, and theauthors’ ten principles for creative collaboration are clear andpowerful Filled with practical tools and guidance, this bookactually gets to the core of working together more effectively.”

—Joyce WycoffCofounder of the InnovationNetwork

For Peter and Marc, whose love sustains our efforts.

Play and Rejuvenate 213

PUTTING THE PRINCIPLES IN ACTION

What You Can Do 227

OUTTAKES

Some Parting Thoughts 239

vii

Resources 247 Endnotes 253 Index 255

About the Authors 263

Jerry Hirshberg

Teams Teamwork Teamplay What do these words mediately inspire? Yeah, yeah, we know Groupthink Forcedcongeniality Imposed work styles Saluting the common de-nominator and submerging yourself in the prevailing consen-sus Carrying your load for the greater good Suppressing anyquirky impulses, getting in line and toeing the line, remem-bering always the solemn Star Trek credo, “The needs of themany outweigh the needs of the one.”

im-Along with such equally abused and overused business

platitudes as out-of-the-box thinking and customer-driven

inno-vation, the mere mention of teamwork promotes an automatic

tuning out While the term continues to have positive cations when connected with military leadership, factory work,and competitive sports, it hardly seems to suggest a managementstrategy that fosters intuitive impulses or creative departures.Yet an examination of the history of breakthrough think-ing reveals that divergent thought can indeed emerge from cer-tain kinds of teams Even the romantic notion of the solitarygenius laboring in utter isolation is yielding to a more realistic

impli-ix

picture of the myriad ways highly gifted individuals seek out acommunity of interactive relationships for creative ideation.The authors of this important book have focused onways that collaboration and teamwork can be used to igniterather than snuff out original thought They have brokenthrough the myth that all teams operate according to thesame basic rules, and have instead generated a fresh set ofstrategies concentrated on an all-important end result: ideas.

In so doing they have necessarily broadened and redefinedwhat is generally meant by collaboration, leadership, andsound management practices

Conventional teams know precisely where they areheaded from the outset, with a clear map of how to get there.They thrive by mastering what has worked in the past Per-haps the most significant differentiating feature of break-through teams, however, is that they cannot possibly knowthe final form of their labors until they discover it This placesdiscovery as the prime priority of effective teamwork whenbreakthroughs are needed The process of discovery requires

a fresh look at everything held sacrosanct in organizationalmanagement, from the role and style of meetings to what ismeant by leadership Using what has worked in the past sim-ply will not get us to the future

There is a central and powerful assumption ning the ten principles introduced by Dr Gundry and Ms.LaMantia It is that creative thought is not the sole province

underpin-of a handful underpin-of uniquely gifted individuals I share with the thors the belief that all persons given an appropriately con-ceived and supportive environment have the capacity forinnovative thought This has served as the foundation for myown work both as a creative design executive in industry and

au-as an author of the book I wrote on the subject, The Creative

Priority (Harper Business).

This is not to say that we can all be creative geniuses, butthat we are all born with an innate creative capability It is afundamental human survival and learning instinct For most of

us the energy of this instinct is highest during our formativeyears, but becomes increasingly eroded by the nature of oureducational institutions and later by the conforming pressures

of our working environments This has led to the erroneousassumption that, by their very nature, organizations and groupsnecessarily suppress divergent thinking It needn’t be so.While ideas are surely born in individual minds, they can

be triggered, enhanced, and transformed by human tion The pregnant space between minds is where emergingthoughts collide, overlap, contrast, and sometimes juxtaposewith one another to form wholly new concepts and directions,ones that might not have formed in isolation An instinctiveawareness of the vibrancy of this space is what draws us to shareour notions with select colleagues and friends, to expose thenewly emerging precepts to alien perspectives, and to bouncethem off one another in order to lend them critical perspec-tive We do this quite freely, away from work, where it is safe

interac-“One another” is the most significant phrase in the vious paragraph, because it indicates that it is individuals withwhom we are drawn to interact, not the faceless and some-times threatening entity represented by the group This rec-ognition and focus on the critical importance of individualminds and personalities resonating with each other distinguishesbreakthrough teamwork The process is not consistently con-sensual or harmonious at every stage, but it is always stimu-lating and challenging And it does not require checking yourpersonality, personal perspectives, or instincts at the door In-stead, the working ambiance in such a group thrives on the interaction of a broad variety of approaches, work styles, andphilosophies

pre-Awareness that it is not only acceptable, but mandatory

to bring one’s whole and true self to the party is what creates

a feeling of security However, most businesses work to avoidthe perceived messiness and threats of divergent approachesand procedures They favor a coolly logical, objective, andconsistently aligned mentality in the workplace But ideationrequires more, and the authors have highlighted the equiva-lent importance of passion, intuition, play (as in playing aroundwith ideas), risk-taking, and even failure Breakthrough teamscannot be limited to a linear, sequential, dispassionate modeassociated (incorrectly) with the celebrated model of the sci-entific method

Breakthrough teams require whole-brain thinking andthe full engagement of individual personalities, with all their in-nate passions and idiosyncrasies, working in concert with oneanother The variety of viewpoints and preferred methodolo-gies are what lend the creative edge to the group What we arethen led to when following the principles of the breakthroughteam is not the primacy of the group, but the living, breath-ing individuals forming it

This book will surely help to dispel all the tired,

oppres-sive notions conjured up by the term teamwork, and reinvest

it with a sense of the vivid creative potential so necessary inthis era of breathtaking change

Jerry Hirshberg

Past President and Founding Director,

Nissan Design International

Del Mar, California

e-mail: jjerrymander@aol.com

Every book is the result of collaboration, and ours is noexception Considering the topic on which we are writing, wewouldn’t have it any other way This book grew out of theideas of many people we have worked with, taught, and con-sulted Our words spring from those ideas, and we are grate-ful to the colleagues, students, clients, family, and friends whoguided us along the journey to creating this book

In expressing our appreciation we will begin where it allstarted, with Ida Bialik, friend, entrepreneur, national advo-cate of small business owners, who introduced us to one an-other several years ago Our collaboration culminates in thisbook, and we thank Ida for that long ago call that started it all

We were able to highlight the ten principles that form thisbook with the experiences of people who allowed us to comeinto their organizational and, in some cases, personal lives to

have a conversation about what collaboration really is They

gave generously of their time and of their minds, and we expressour heartfelt thanks to all of them They bring this book to life

In true collaborative fashion, we name them alphabetically:

xiii

Ralph Ardill of Imagination, LTD; Jonathan Booth ofPharmacia; Saul Carliner of Bentley College; Julie Gwaltney,Mary Janninck, Elyse Piper, Peter Secker, and Amy Grau ofEnesco Group, Inc.; Jim Grigoriou of the Davstoc Group;Lea Maurer of Lake Forest High School and formerly of theU.S National Olympic Swimming Team; Dr Lynne O’Shea

of A.T Kearney and DePaul University; Marsha Serlin ofUnited Scrap Metals; Diggi Thomson of Unilever; Tony Wat-son of U.S Alliance Group; Richard Ybarra of Eureka Com-munities; and Jerry Zelinski of Lucent Technologies

Their stories reflect inspirational leadership and oration as it exists in a variety of organizations they repre-sent, and they also demonstrate courage by placing their ac-tions in line with their intentions We are indebted to them for their stories and for giving many of us something to shootfor!

collab-We express our gratitude to Joanna Sprtel Walters, uate student in DePaul’s MBA program, for her help in theresearch and transcription of the interviews for this book Shecame to us mid-project, and plunged into it with indefatigablespirit Her capability and generosity in sharing her network ofcontacts brought us together with Admiral Tony Watson andLea Maurer, who are among the collaborative team leadersprofiled in this book We owe much to Jean Iversen Cook, Senior Acquisitions Editor at Dearborn, who first believed inour message and encouraged us to turn it into this book Wegratefully acknowledge Trey Thoelcke, our Senior Project Ed-itor, for his skillful help in shaping the final manuscript, andLucy Jenkins for her inspiring interior design

grad-From Lisa: I wish to thank my colleagues at DePaul, pecially the faculty in the Department of Management I amgrateful to work in such a collaborative climate Many of youhave profoundly influenced the way that I work, and I have no

es-doubt that it shows in this book Special thanks to Jill Kickul,Margaret Posig, Ray Coye, David Drehmer, and CharliePrather; to Gerhard Plaschka and Leo V Ryan for giving cre-ativity a home at DePaul; to the teams in organizations withwhom I have worked, who are trying to make a difference;and to all my students whose questions, stories, and presence

in my classroom have taught me so many lessons over the years

To all of you and others whose conversations with me thesepast few months helped me focus and do what matters, I oweheartfelt thanks To Laurie LaMantia who opened me up towhat creativity could look like in organizations and in my ownlife—thank you for creating these pages with me

Finally, this book would never have come to be withoutthe unending support and love of my family To my husbandPeter, thank you for believing in me and for sharing your owncreative spirit, keen perception, and sense of humor that keeps

my academic life sharp—your love and understanding madethis book possible My sons Dylan and Austin, who daily enactthe creative spirit, are always helping me to grow in ways Inever dreamed My parents, Helga and Hal, who came to-gether from different parts of the world, helped me realize thevalue of different perspectives, hard work, and finding yourpassion and following it—all of them deserve my love andgratitude This book is for you

From Laurie: I would like to begin by thanking my band Marc Sometimes I find it difficult to put into wordshow grateful I am for all you give me Your willingness to sup-port me in finding my wings, your compassion, and your loveare wonderful Thank you for giving me the opportunity tofocus on this book, a long-time dream realized

hus-I would like to thank the students with whom hus-I have hadthe privilege of sharing ideas and concepts Every time I stand

up to teach, I learn so much from you—thank you

To the Idea Ladies without whom I would never have

had the opportunity to learn so much about creative ration and myself I will always be grateful for IdeaVerse andwhat we created at Lucent I will forever treasure your men-torship, guidance, love, and friendship my dear friends AngelaJust, Chris Steinberg, and Lari Washburn

collabo-A special thanks to you collabo-Angela, for your generous helpreading and editing this book Creative collaboration is inyour blood

I would also like to thank all of the teams and sionals with whom I have had the great pleasure of working

profes-So many excellent people teach me every day

To Lisa Gundry, life’s mystery stirs possibility—you, myfriend, have a big spoon Thank you for seeing something in

me to want to create this book together

To the GNO bunch, you are my very special pals, whogive me laughter and f-u-n when I need it Thanks Judy,Lourdes, Michelle, Tammy, and Teresa

To my MAP team, thank you, thank you, thank you.And to my family, business is in our blood I rememberhearing company conversations every Saturday morning since

I was young Mom and Dad, you gave me a wonderful dation to grow from Thank you for your love and for pro-viding me so many opportunities to learn A special thanks to

foun-my wonderful sister, Shari, you are a great person, and to foun-mybrother Ted, who can do anything he puts his mind to.How do we express our gratitude to the many peoplewho have touched our lives, and generously gave of them-selves so we may grow? It is an impossible task but an impor-tant one Thank you to the many people who have sharedyour special something to make this book come to life

Do teams work? We are all familiar with the belief thatthe power of people working together provides output thatfar surpasses the efforts of any one individual So why is itmost of us have never been a part of a dream team? Do theyreally exist? And if they do, how did they get this magical abil-

ity? Breakthrough Teams for Breakneck Times explores the

dis-tinctive qualities of breakthrough teams, and gives you tools to

transform your team into one that makes a difference, whether

being more productive and innovative, more in touch withthe needs of your clients or communities, or enriching the pro-fessional and personal lives of the people on the team.The ideas that grew into the pages of this book havecome out of years of doing the work that matters most to us—helping individuals and teams find within themselves the cre-ativity and breakthrough thinking they possess to make a realdifference These ideas have become the ten principles youwill find in this book We have designed them for organiza-tions that desire to become more innovative, and for people

xvii

who want something more meaningful to come out of thework they do.

We all have worked on teams that never seemed to reachthe potential they set for themselves Somehow, something al-ways went wrong The goals weren’t clear, people weren’t onthe team for the same reasons, the leader tried to take theteam in a direction that seemed off course, the team became

a playing field for all sorts of conflicts (both personal and fessional) that plummeted morale and motivation In short,many teams don’t thrive They barely survive

pro-So what does a breakthrough team look like? How does

it feel to be part of such a team, to lead or change it into coming breakthrough? How do you form a collective vision,decide how you want to operate together, take courageous action and explore risks, heal when conflicts arise, embracechange, and even play and rejuvenate as a team?

be-The Ten Power Principles in the Book

This book presents ten principles of team collaborationthat lead to breakthrough thinking and better innovation Wediscuss the power principles behind breakthrough teams: howthey form and envision their goals, how they communicateand reach a collective understanding, how they approachproblems and opportunities, and how they produce faster andmore effectively One of the key benefits of this book is thatthe ten principles, along with the exercises, creative team tools,

and real team scenarios presented, will engage all of the team

members, stimulating greater creativity and productivity.

The pressure to be successful as a team is present andmounting We live and work in breakneck times Product andservice obsolescence rates are on the rise Every day (or every

hour in some industries) a new competitor emerges on thescene and tugs at our existing framework The needs of ourcustomers and clients shift frequently, and in some cases thesevery markets are disappearing, and we must discover newones In short, we need to move faster.

If we take the time to build a team in the right way, bydoing the right things, we can become breakneck If, however,

we skip over the principles and just get right to work, we mightlook breakneck, but we will just be doing the wrong thingsfaster! Our point is this: If you want your team to be break-through (and this will have a different meaning across busi-nesses, community organizations, and governments), in order

to survive and succeed in this breakneck economy, you willneed to unlock your team’s potential to collaborate creatively.Collaborating is a skill, and it’s not just for when you are trying

to be creative This book covers fundamental building blocks ofteam interconnectivity that you can use to get your work done

At the same time, we don’t intend for this to be a recipebook We cannot give you a formula to make your team morecollaborative, creative, or innovative We can’t give you therecipe for making a difference We can give you some guidelinesand ideas You must put them to use, experiment with them,modify, change, or chuck them as your situation demands Wewould love to be able to give you a formula: When Trent com-plains then do this, when Trina demands, do this But we can-not do that with integrity We are not gurus; we are humanswho have worked with teams and seen a few things, but wetoo are on a discovery path to wholeness and integrity in ourteams, our businesses, our classes, families, and friendships.Everything is changing and we are all constantly learning—what good news

Dream teams are highlighted throughout the book, ing from the worlds of business and industry, performing arts,

draw-civic and charitable organizations, to showcase a wide trum of collaborative teams We have not exclusively focused

spec-on amazing stories of breakthroughs or teams making greatdifferences This would make it seem there are special peopleand teams who have “it” and other teams that never can Everyteam has a bit of “it”—the magic of breakthroughs, the power

of collaboration, the ability to create and innovate, and the ity to make a difference Through a process of intention and ap-plication of these principles, every team can have more of “it.”

abil-We hold several beliefs that are reflected throughout thisbook You can have great impact in your teams; you can be athought leader You have a choice about the type of teamplayer you will be Everyone wants to see a better world There-fore everyone has the potential to be an agent for change Inthe words of Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish tosee in the world.” The key is finding the things that we havepassion for and letting our passions lead the way to change

We also believe everyone is creative, despite the years we orothers might have spent telling ourselves that we are not verycreative or original

We believe the role of managers and team leaders tinues to evolve We talk of this new role, but you, as leader/manager need to define this role for yourself We describe acollaborator as one who paves paths, but you might define itdifferently However you define it, we have seen a change in

con-the role of management from owning it all to shared sibility and shared accountability: a shift from me to we, and from have to to want to The language is the message.

respon-We don’t believe that every team is collaborative all thetime Nor are teams never collaborative As humans we gothrough cycles—winter when we are resting, spring when weare preparing to bloom, summer when we are in full bloom,and fall when we are reaping the fruits of our labors Teams

have these cycles too Try to honor the cycles of your teamand respect the need for rest We cannot always be in our sum-mer or fall Seasonality is a basic law of nature; work with itand reap the fruits of the way teams (and life) work.

It is our hope this book becomes a handbook for youand your team Make notes in the margins and play with theconcepts to make them your own rather than just having apassive read Unlocking the genius of our teams essentiallymeans we value the genius in ourselves and in other people andthen go about making the most of it Who knows where thiswill take you? The journey is full of possibilities that can lead

to breakthroughs So let’s get started

When we break through something, it feels like we havepopped into a new dimension It’s as if we are lifted up pastthe bounds of what we know and expect to a different realm,

a whole new world We see things we missed; we can createfrom a new way of knowing that was not possible before It isexciting and amazing Breakthroughs are like candy; once wehave had the taste of one, we want more and more

We might even go on a hunt for breakthroughs, ing them, demanding them Yet, breakthroughs are as myste-rious as the knowledge they bring What brings them on?How do we plan for them? Can we make them happen? How

expect-do we make them happen more frequently? Can we create anenvironment that is conducive to breakthroughs? How?There is a magical quality to breakthroughs, and prepar-ing ourselves and creating the conditions for breakthrough is

1

what this book is about The magical quality of a through does not have to be random We can create the con-ditions to facilitate this magical quality, and it is much simplerthan we might think Our thoughts have power, and our wordseven more When we speak, our words help create the reality

break-we are experiencing and help shape the reality of our future.Teams have extraordinary power to influence reality because

of the number of people involved

If we do not acknowledge the phenomenon of magicand reality creation, then we can never have the breakthroughdiscussion So if it is breakthroughs we want, we need to ac-knowledge the larger forces at play

Can we put ourselves in a breakthrough frame of mind?The answer is “Yes, we can,” and here’s how

1 First, we need to banish the fear of the breakthroughnot happening Fear creates doubt and worry, andthis works against the very thing we strive to create.When we worry that the breakthrough will not hap-pen, we slow the process way down—so don’t worry.Instead, say “I know there is possibility here I amopen to something popping up that I did not expect.”

2 The second step is to release our expectations of whatthe breakthrough will look like Our expectationslimit us from seeing the breakthrough when it hap-pens and they restrict what can be created When wefixate on one right answer, we close down the field ofinfinite possibility and it is from the field of infinitepossibility that breakthroughs emerge Locking in onepossibility closes down the creating process There isnothing wrong with having an idea of what we wouldlike to see happen, but there is a difference between

outlining the needs of the team goal and dictating theway the goal must be achieved This is why strategicplans are now considered too limiting and ineffective.The problem is that the plan has been taken as gospeland when we do not execute according to plan, itseems we have failed But plans are only good for themoment in time when they were conceived, primarilybecause we are not fortunetellers; we do not knowwhat the future holds.

The same goes for our financial objectives Itmakes sense to create financial goals, but many times

we become fixated on meeting those goals and weforget they were targets, wishes We focus on the num-ber and not what goes into the number or the otherneeds that were boiled down into the number Both ofthese approaches limit what can be created and narrowthe field of infinite possibilities by force-fitting ourexpectations instead of expanding to the possibilities

Now that we have released our fear and worry, and wemoved our expectations from one possible outcome, we areready to continue getting ourselves in a breakthrough frame

of mind

3 The next step is to be receptive and open to the sibilities, and continue planting the seeds for break-through We review the opportunity or problem as

pos-we understand it It also helps to review any data andinformation we have gathered

4 Now we can play with possibilities Begin talking aboutthe envisioned state for the team Do not be attached

to the future state, but discuss what it could look like

Make “Wouldn’t it be great if ” statements, which

go a long way toward helping us describe what wewould like to see when this breakthrough occurs

Be careful to state the optimal outcomes, and

spend more time on what we want to see happen, rather than on what we do not want to see happen, be-

cause the mind works in a mysterious way: The mindforgets the “not.” It gets lost, and a well-intentionedstatement like, “We do not want to disappoint the cus-tomer” can be heard as “We want to disappoint thecustomer.” Better to modify the statement to “Thecustomer will be thrilled by our product.” It soundssimple, but it works

Here’s an example of visioning from a breakthroughstate of mind: Pat was envisioning her next career move Shesaid, “I would like a job where I can work part time and make

at least $50,000 a year.” Now let’s look at this and see where

it can be improved First, she did not talk of the type of ronment in which she would like to work What else did shewant? What did she really wish to have happen? With whatkind of people would she like to work? What type of work didshe want to be doing? What talents did she want to grow?Also she dictated a number, $50,000 This did not leaveopen the possibility for more A better statement would be, “Iwould like to make enough so that money is not an object”

envi-or “to facilitate covering my needs and my desire to start mysinging career.” As for saying she wanted a “part-time job,” itwould have been better to note that she was interested in

“freedom from having to be somewhere every day and thing that took less time” so she could dedicate more time toher singing career

some-Can you notice the difference? In the former statement,Pat did not talk about what she really wanted She gave a gro-cery list instead of an expansive, open-ended statement ofwhat would facilitate her heart’s desires The same thing hap-pens in teams; we make our grocery list instead of creatingfrom a possibility mentality.

5 After envisioning the possibilities, just let go Nowthis is the part where everyone is going to have a sig-nificant problem What do you mean “just let go”?What about the action plan? What about making some-thing happen? We say we just did We just plantedour wishes into the sea of infinite possibility; now letthe magic happen But be on the lookout for things

to start moving in some direction

6 Be on the lookout for synchronicities popping up tomove us toward the opportunity or resolve the prob-

lem Then take action The answers and options will

start to come from many places (books, news, ourchildren), but we must be attentive to them Go withthe flow of what is coming to the team What seemsbad might be exactly what is needed to move forwardtoward the desired reality

Learning to use this process to get into a breakthroughstate of mind might seem strange at first—all new things are.With diligence and a little effort, though, our teams are lay-ing the groundwork for breakthrough thinking and action.The following page contains a summary of the break-through process for you to copy for the entire team and hang

at your desks as a reminder of what you can do to make a difference

“Magic is the ability to create something that is honest and full of wonder In a nutshell, as kids we used our special gifts to create constant magic If only we could do that again for our customers, colleagues, employees, and shareholders.”1

—Dr Alan Gregerman, Lessons from the Sandbox

Getting into a Breakthrough Frame of Mind

Use this process to prepare the team for breakthroughs

1 Banish any fear of a breakthrough not happening.Don’t worry or think of the reasons why a break-through cannot happen Focus on a successful out-come Say “I know there is possibility here I am open

to something popping up that I did not expect.”

2 Release your expectations of what the breakthroughwill look like Stay objective and open to many solu-tions to your opportunity

3 Review the opportunity or problem as you stand it It also helps to review any data and infor-mation gathered

under-4 Talk as a team about the envisioned state Do not beattached to the future state, but discuss what itcould look like Make “Wouldn’t it be great if ”statements Be careful to state the optimal out-

comes, and spend more time on what you want tosee happen Don’t discuss downsides or play devil’sadvocate Give as much information as possibleabout the optimal outcome.

5 After envisioning the possibilities, just let go—don’taction plan, etc

6 Be alert and on the lookout for synchronicities ping up to move the team toward the opportunity

pop-or resolve the problem The answers and options willstart to come from many places (books, news, your

children), but you must be attentive to them Then

take action.

DREAM TEAMS

What Makes Them Work?

“There is nothing like dreams to create the future.

Utopia today, flesh and blood tomorrow.”

—Victor Hugo, Les Miserables

Imagine the possibilities You are part of a team that setsits vision about what it wants to be and accomplish together

Your fellow team members are recruited not because of their

relationships with other team members, nor because they tend

to think in similar ways, but specifically for the valuable gent perspectives they bring to the team Your team openlyand honestly communicates about everything and is on a jour-ney as much as it is headed to a particular destination Ofcourse it meets its goals; in fact, it probably exceeds most

diver-of them

But being part of a dream team is much more than just

accomplishing a task or a project It is an experience of giality and flow Being on a dream team is unlike any groupexperience you’ve ever had or will have Our hometown once

colle-9

boasted one of the world’s best known dream teams, TheChicago Bulls, six-time winners of the NBA Championship.They set Chicago spinning for several years But dream teamsare not found only on basketball courts The principles char-acterizing a dream team are spokes in a wheel, and the fol-lowing ten chapters introduce you to these principles, uponwhich you can build a dream team experience It’s not easy In

fact, to become breakthrough, which we propose is the sine

qua non of dream teams, you have to be willing to work as

hard as you have ever worked with a group of people Thecentral point of this book is that you have to take the time toput the team together right if you want to reach that break-through product, project, or service The ten principles willbreak through to ideas, answers, and solutions The ten prin-ciples will help you on your journey They are the key dimen-sions that keep people going in the same direction despiteuncertainty, unfriendly organizational cultures, and evenhuman nature

Throughout this book we profile teams and team leadersfrom a cross-section of organizations and professional experi-ences They are teams from manufacturing companies, con-sumer products firms, community service organizations,design firms, high school athletics, and a host of others Some

of these teams exist within traditional, hierarchical settingswhile others exist in independent, entrepreneurial firms Thepoint is to offer examples from a variety of areas, in the hopethat you will see your team, or what your team can become.For this introductory chapter we have selected two ex-amples of such teams, to help you envision what is happeningwhen a team reaches this high performance state Let’s dive infor a look

Diggi Thomson of Unilever

on “The Passion behind Collaboration”

At the time we interviewed him, Diggi Thomson hadbeen with Unilever for eight years, six of them in the UnitedKingdom, marketing fragrances to 16 to 24 year olds He isMarketing Manager for Salon Selectives where he spear-headed the relaunch of the product line, a turnaround he de-scribes as “the most successful launch in the history of theuniverse.” Diggi’s passion is obvious as he tells the story of abrand that slid from being number two in the market to a dis-appointing number six The challenge to Diggi and his teamwas clear: How could they get it right again and what would

be the formula for success?

The original launch of Salon Selectives in 1987 rapidlyled the product line to number two position in the market-place in 1991 with a 6 percent dollar share of the market Bythe beginning of 1999, however, the brand had slid to thenumber six position and a 4 percent dollar market share In

2000, they launched a new plan to recapture market share.Their vision was based on the following principles: simplifica-tion, unique copy, new fragrance, new packaging, new pric-ing, and profit They purposefully created a new advertisingidea and creative platform built on abstraction in order tostimulate the creative thought process of the team members.Key words and phrases were: See it, Do it These words, en-couraging customers to create the styles they envision (see it)with these products (do it), eventually became the ad line forthe new launch

Diggi attributes the success of the relaunch to the laborative capabilities of his team “Creativity and collabora-

col-tive teambuilding is important, as it allows you to improvethings, leave a tangible mark, and enjoy yourself as well as useyour brain properly.” Salon Selectives broke conventions tobecome breakthrough Diggi explains, “Most existing brandsanswer how Salon Selectives addresses the fundamental why

of its products.” The team turned several myths of hair careproducts on their ears: “One myth is that inspirations forlooks come from other people In fact, inspirations for lookscan come from anywhere Another myth is that a brand’s role

is to help consumers get the look they want In fact, Salon lectives’ role is to inspire consumers to think about the lookthey want, as well as to help them get it.”

Se-The 2000 turnaround collaborative effort was comprised

of several different teams all working together Each team had

to come together to brainstorm and expand the current brand.Without creativity and collaboration, it would have been nearlyimpossible to re-engineer the many components that make up

a relaunch of any product or service Concept, design, productnames, pack copy, advertising, communications plans, mediasell–in, how to get artwork done in two versus six weeks, the trade transition from old to new, and the launch partywere all key elements contributing to the new product’s im-pending success

We asked Diggi to let us in on how he was able to ulate collaboration among numerous individuals and depart-ments The following are his reflections and advice on how toachieve real collaboration:

stim-• Question thy assumptions Thinking errors are usually

errors of perception, not logic Diggi believes that

as-sumptions put a subconscious restraint on creativity.You need to ask if your assumptions are valid and showsome proof

• Set great expectations The one thing I commonly say

is “Make me nervous” in a positive way Unless you

do, it certainly won’t be brilliant, and it’s unlikely tomake consumers say “Wow, that’s different, new, andexciting!”

• Great briefs (vision statements) are the basis of the

team’s work They should be simple, clear, focused, and

wrapped in inspiring language The team brief is tremely important The brief sets up the task and whatyou hope to accomplish Bad briefs are vague, withtoo many ideas Good briefs are clear, single-minded,short, and inspiring They should harness the brain’sgrappling hooks In marketing you have to always re-member that people might give you two seconds oftheir time when they are in the shop and there is asmall chance they have seen your ad You’d better bevery concise about the essence of what you are about

ex-or fex-orget it I think the truth in that goes beyondpackaged goods Diggi adds that he recently heard aquote from Dee Hock, founder of Visa International:

“Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to plex and interesting behavior Complex rules and reg-ulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.”

com-• As a team leader, walk the talk, and set the example.

Diggi encourages openness and respect for opinions,but people know that idle grousing will not cut it.People on my team buy into the responsibility forthinking about how to get around concerns, not justvoicing them As a team we are talented people, and

we have a platform to do our best work Are we going

to step up or step down to it?

• Diversity is smart Diggi believes that the more

interest-ing the input is, the more excitinterest-ing the output

Diver-sity of function, thought, experience, race, and tionality is a stimulus that provides more jumping offpoints for many more interesting linkages and newthoughts.

na-• Recognition is fuel Diggi recounts what team

mem-bers experience when their process is going well andthey reach success: That felt good, and I’ll do it again.There is no limit to how much recognition you cangive someone Publicly and privately recognize all thatdeserve it Here we have “Walk the Talk” awards thatare given out monthly, and we say something aboutwhat the person has done For example, “We recognizeJohn for his enthusiasm, demonstration of positive at-titude, diligence, and overall consistent embodiment

of Phoenix Team values and vision.”

• Communication is glue Diggi stresses that if you want

every member of your team to feel excitement, longing, and commitment, then formal and informalcommunication is necessary He regularly talks things

be-up outside the team so people on the team realize theyare being perceived as part of that team and thereforebecome prouder to belong to it

• Attitude is all According to Diggi, it’s not who or

what you are, but your attitude that counts

• Passion gets results Diggi claims he learned from a set

designer that we have no excuse not going for blown greatness

full-Diggi does walk his talk The vision he follows for self as team leader and collaborator is manifest in everythingabout him, from the way he tells the story and the respect andpride he holds for his team, to the everyday actions that sym-bolize what’s really important It’s hardly surprising that all

him-this creative collaboration takes place in an organizationwhose lobby contains two simulated Chicago street signs: thecorner of Idea Avenue and Innovation Street.

Could this be every dream team’s address? ✴

The following story was told to us by Dr Lynne O’Shea.She is with A.T Kearney, the high-value management con-sulting subsidiary of EDS, and an Executive in Residence fac-ulty member for DePaul University’s Kellstadt GraduateSchool of Business The story illustrates that sometimes dreamteams, in this case a virtual team, can seem the stuff of fantasy

Dr Lynne O’Shea

“It Was like Camelot.com”

The School for Management and Strategic Studies (SMSS)was only once in time With folks called “fellows” instead of

“knights.” Camelot arose after the fall of the Roman Legion.SMSS came at the end of the Industrial Age, and was, in fact,

a merry band of brave-hearted people who were exploring thefrontier of the Information Age The story begins like this:

In 1981, Richard Farson, president of the Western havioral Sciences Institute (WBSI) in La Jolla, California, rec-ognized that cyberspace had finally created the opportunityfor executives to learn the dramatically changing requirements

Be-of leadership, without having to leave their jobs He ceived a school that would exist in digital space for a decade.The fellows (students) would be taught by a faculty of leadingscholars, corporate officers, and political leaders Fellows andfaculty alike would have to learn to use computers for com-munication in this new cyber-school Farson’s dream was sup-ported by reality when, in 1981, the price of Apple computers

con-came down to about $5,000 Now executives could buythem, making his breakthrough idea of a non-geographically-constrained educational program possible He would now beable to explore his burning interest in the humanitarian appli-cations of the new on-line conferencing technology.

Farson and the WBSI staff undertook the design and cruiting effort that spawned the SMSS The first executiveperson to sign on was Douglas Strain, chairman and CEO ofElectroScientific Industries The first class began in 1982, mak-ing it the first program in online distance education The lastclass (each lasted 2 years) graduated in 1991 I was part of theclass of 1988 Arthurian history, in Britain’s fifth century, re-calls the twelve battles during which King Arthur and hisKnights of the Round Table gained their reputation for invin-cibility We engaged in twelve dialogues, each for two years.Everyone found the experience so rewarding that after grad-uating, no one wanted to leave So alumni and previous fac-ulty continued to be a part of this growing community.Faculty and fellows began their discussions face to face,continuing online over the next six months before returning

re-to La Jolla for another residential session Each month theycovered a major topic relating to a curriculum that dealt withgeopolitics, environment, technology, government relations,management philosophy, and ethics Remember, this wasmore than a decade before the emergence of the World WideWeb In the beginning, it required 32 keystrokes just to sign

on Our ideas traveled at 3,000 baud Today’s Internet usersgrow impatient with 56,000 baud Class sizes varied from three

to twenty-three and included military generals, corporatechieftains, and leading academics living life in the fast lane, en-abled by Web technologies

For Lynne, however, this was more than ically-constrained education It was a dream team with partic-

non-geograph-ipants drawn from diverse backgrounds, typing on their boards deep in the dark of the night in far-flung ports of call,each enabling the other to fast-forward thoughts and ideasinto implementation.

key-We asked Lynne what made such a team possible:

First, we were first By that I mean it was the first timesuch a diverse group had been pulled together The excite-ment we felt was exhilarating Three of our members were astronauts, and when they spoke of seeing “the big blue mar-ble” from space with no artificial boundaries—we felt our experience in SMSS was similar Second, our thoughts trav-eled in nanoseconds Suddenly, synchronous communicationcould occur with Jorge Semella’s thoughts suddenly jumpingonto my screen, with Jorge in Caracas and me in Chicago.Third, we overcame not only time, but space There were nonation-state boundaries in the way Fourth, we were beingwatched Teams of psychologists and other social scientistsfollowed our every move to see how we were reacting tobeing in this new information environment Our classes werewatched over by the psychologists, who saw the heart at work

as faculty and fellows struggled with very human issues.Finally, and this is the defining moment for me, we couldlearn, share, and trust because we were not threatened In realspace, one may feel threatened by another’s age, background,

or tone of voice In virtual space, you see word-processedthought You see, in fact, the mind at work You can sign-onwhen you are ready, rather than being called into a class or ameeting at a time when you may not be at your best It is allpart of overcoming space or, more accurately, place The placeother people put you in due to hierarchy or prejudice

A dream team happens when we connect and do not feel

distant from one another Sherry Turkle, another MIT space educator, believes that Internet experiences help us to

cyber-develop models of psychological well-being We are aged to think of ourselves as fluid, emergent, decentralized,and flexible These words that describe the best of an Internetexperience also define the best of teams Think of Gateway

encour-Computers, especially the word gateway Think of going from

here to there unencumbered Our emerging paradigm is tional, not linear Web-enabled technology is changing theway we think and talk about ourselves: linking, comparing,and connecting These too are words for the best of teams

rela-To believe that your team is doing something important,something that requires you to be brave, first, flexible, or un-encumbered in getting from here to there is to be lifted above(like my astronaut colleagues) boundaries, territories, andthen pettiness, color, age, race, or creed We believed that washappening in our experience together All told, some 200 peo-ple came to this virtual space to collaborate and communicate,

at the end of the twentieth century, about what the first century might look like for the planet They came toovercome—time, space, and place ✴

twenty-“To accomplish great things, we must dream as well

as act.”

—Anatole France

These stories took us inside two very different dream teamsthat came together under distinct circumstances and times.But like the many stories of other teams you will encounterthroughout this book, they share some common characteris-tics of teams that perform creative collaboration:

• Individual team members have a clear understanding

of their abilities, styles, and potential contributions to