X-teams

Good teams often fail when they must be creative! This isn’t for lack of talent or motivation, but rather due to insufficient integration of other stakeholders and the general context. Using carefully selected and illustrated arguments, the authors propose three key ways to remedy this. In particular, chapter 3 describes the type of outward-facing activities that teams must learn to conduct well. They specifically use the image of “scouts” to illustrate the curiosity and entrepreneurial spirit required for effective and innovative teamwork. Chapter 4 introduces what is known as “extreme execution,” that is, the ability to take account of external input and perspectives while remaining extremely efficient internally. Chapter 5 shows how “X-teams” must adapt their priorities and organizational practices to move successfully from one project phase to the next. Part three gives suggestions to managers who want to build such teams.