Team Coordination Is Key in Businesses

[image error]

Photograph by AFP/Getty Images

Dan Heath and Chip Heath explain why we tend to neglect coordination -- and suggest how to fix it.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the American men's 4x100 relay team was a strong medal contender. During the four previous Games, the American men had medaled every time. The qualifying heats in 2008 -- the first step on the road to gold -- should have been a cakewalk.

On the third leg of the race, the U.S.A.'s Darvis Patton was running neck and neck with a runner...