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Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance
Understand and decode the inner workings of great business teams with the more than 30 in-depth examples in Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance . Author Howard Guttman examines and dissects teams at top-management, business-unit, and functional levels and isolates five key factors that drive team performance to offer you insight into the ways these teams achieve success. Using this book, go directly to the marketplace to scrutinize teams in a variety of industries, evaluating the challenges they face and the methods they choose to manage these challenges.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 4, 2011
Howard Guttman gets it. He understands that great teams start with great leadership and great leaders are the catalyst for positive change. In Great Business Teams, Guttman asserts that leaders are the visionaries and architects the organization’s future.
Guttman explains that great business teams perform well in high-pressure situations
and utilize pre-established business practices and protocols to address challenges. He notes that these teams are led by high-performance leaders who build authentic relationships, act in ways that demonstrates their personal accountability to the team, and put the team first and the function second. These leaders continually raise the bar by challenging the status quo and using a performance management system that reinforces team goals.
I particularly liked Guttman’s Ladder of Accountability and the question that he asked of members of senior leadership teams, “What are you accountable for?” If they answer, “Myself,” they have only reached the first rung. The next four rungs include: My team, my peers, my manager, and my organization. A senior leader’s answer to this question would be quite telling and I anticipate asking it in my work with executive teams.
Great Business Teams provides a pathway for managers to transform their teams into high-performing teams, which he explains are strategically-focused, horizontally structured, and distributive decision-making.
A great read for anyone on a team or leading one!
Guttman explains that great business teams perform well in high-pressure situations
and utilize pre-established business practices and protocols to address challenges. He notes that these teams are led by high-performance leaders who build authentic relationships, act in ways that demonstrates their personal accountability to the team, and put the team first and the function second. These leaders continually raise the bar by challenging the status quo and using a performance management system that reinforces team goals.
I particularly liked Guttman’s Ladder of Accountability and the question that he asked of members of senior leadership teams, “What are you accountable for?” If they answer, “Myself,” they have only reached the first rung. The next four rungs include: My team, my peers, my manager, and my organization. A senior leader’s answer to this question would be quite telling and I anticipate asking it in my work with executive teams.
Great Business Teams provides a pathway for managers to transform their teams into high-performing teams, which he explains are strategically-focused, horizontally structured, and distributive decision-making.
A great read for anyone on a team or leading one!
April 7, 2022
Could not finish this one; too many conceptual pointers that are scattered everywhere without forming a concise message. Regurgitated, nebulous advice from a typical high-level exec. Do not recommend.
July 20, 2021
Potentially useful information. Way too boring, however.
January 31, 2023
DNF. This book came highly recommended by a successful CEO / business leader (one of Patrick Bet-David’s “Top 10 Books for Entrepreneurs”), but after sitting on my shelf for several years, I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it.
This book’s weakest point is its writing, which is a total snoozefest. It’s written from the viewpoint of a B-School educated, East Coast business consultant — rather than that of a CEO, founder, or team leader with practical experience gleaned “in the trenches” — so the prose comes across reading like typical tie-wearing MBA stuff. Heavy on the buzz-words, acronyms, and unnecessarily complex jargon, to say the least.
Most ideas here simply rehash what’s already been said by other, more prolific writers in the leadership / management genre — so it ends up adding very little in the way of usefulness or value.
Read anything by Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, John Rossman, HBR, or even former Navy SEAL team commander Jocko Willink instead. I’d also recommend Frank Slootman’s Amp it Up, which beats the pants off this book.
This book’s weakest point is its writing, which is a total snoozefest. It’s written from the viewpoint of a B-School educated, East Coast business consultant — rather than that of a CEO, founder, or team leader with practical experience gleaned “in the trenches” — so the prose comes across reading like typical tie-wearing MBA stuff. Heavy on the buzz-words, acronyms, and unnecessarily complex jargon, to say the least.
Most ideas here simply rehash what’s already been said by other, more prolific writers in the leadership / management genre — so it ends up adding very little in the way of usefulness or value.
Read anything by Peter Drucker, Jim Collins, John Rossman, HBR, or even former Navy SEAL team commander Jocko Willink instead. I’d also recommend Frank Slootman’s Amp it Up, which beats the pants off this book.
February 23, 2023
Guttman nails the fact that every great business team start with great leaders
Guttman also claims that great business teams perform more well in a high pressure environment, i can confirm this as i have seen my team and myself bring significantly better results in high pressure situations.
The book teaches you the basis of a great business team, but most importantly how to improve your business team by adding challenges for example which member can become the best performing of the month. How to make important decisions, high performance visionary leaders, letting others know if you’re frustrated. A funny lesson which was taught, was about non cc’ing other in your mail because of cybersecurity, i get this point but i think it’s too overprotective.The book teaches some valuable lessons, but the book is just too boring for me. This is for me quite important, because i just started reading and i get easily distracted. Which had effect on me consuming all the information.
Guttman also claims that great business teams perform more well in a high pressure environment, i can confirm this as i have seen my team and myself bring significantly better results in high pressure situations.
The book teaches you the basis of a great business team, but most importantly how to improve your business team by adding challenges for example which member can become the best performing of the month. How to make important decisions, high performance visionary leaders, letting others know if you’re frustrated. A funny lesson which was taught, was about non cc’ing other in your mail because of cybersecurity, i get this point but i think it’s too overprotective.The book teaches some valuable lessons, but the book is just too boring for me. This is for me quite important, because i just started reading and i get easily distracted. Which had effect on me consuming all the information.
February 22, 2023
Perfect boek voor het starten van een bedrijf met een groep of in general hoe je met groepen mensen omgaat. Verder zou ik wel willen zeggen dat het boek extreem moeilijk is voor mensen met een wat mindere engels(zoals ik). Ik deed voornamelijk dingen opzoeken die ik niet snapte of deed ik naderhand aan iemand anders vragen.
July 2, 2024
Perfect boek voor het starten van een bedrijf met een groep of in general hoe je met groepen mensen omgaat. Verder zou ik wel willen zeggen dat het boek extreem moeilijk is voor mensen met een wat mindere engels(zoals ik). Ik deed voornamelijk dingen opzoeken die ik niet snapte of deed ik naderhand aan iemand anders vragen
September 21, 2019
Great Business management insights realy helpful on the ways to achieve having
a candid and open team of leaders for your business .
From how teams should communicate to how to respond to various challenges you may face.
a candid and open team of leaders for your business .
From how teams should communicate to how to respond to various challenges you may face.
February 23, 2023
The book was packed with a lot of valuable knowledge. It was a really good book if you look at what knowledge it tries to give. My biggest problem was that the book was written in a really boring way. it took me so long to get through this book.
February 23, 2023
informative, and clear. the book isn't very fun to read, and its hard to keep your attention.
February 13, 2024
Dumb. Just dumb.
February 23, 2023
Dit boek heeft een heleboel belangrijke en nuttige informatie over hoe een great business team hoort te zijn. Het geeft een veel betere perspectief over business teams dan de standaard "Baas en slaven" d.m.v. een team te hebben van allemaal leiders. Lees dit boek voor het leren van:
1. Relatie bouwende vaardigheden binnen business teams.
2. Het handelen van conflicten in business
3. Het creëren van een hoge presterende team
4. Keuzes maken binnen een team
5. Hoe verantwoordelijkheid in elkaar zit in business
6. Actief luisteren vaardigheden
Etc.
In 1 zin: Hoe kan je als een business team hoge prestaties behalen.
1. Relatie bouwende vaardigheden binnen business teams.
2. Het handelen van conflicten in business
3. Het creëren van een hoge presterende team
4. Keuzes maken binnen een team
5. Hoe verantwoordelijkheid in elkaar zit in business
6. Actief luisteren vaardigheden
Etc.
In 1 zin: Hoe kan je als een business team hoge prestaties behalen.
May 5, 2009
Powerful team performance boosters
Howard Guttman gives readers a sophisticated view of all the factors that go into creating high-performing, exceptionally successful teams. He doesn’t pretend that a single magic bullet can transform your team; instead, he provides a well-organized guide that shows you how leaders contribute, what team members must bring, why management support is needed to transform a good team into a great one and how coaching can accelerate a team’s transformation. The book provides a great discussion on how top teams make decisions, how they communicate, and how they decide which meetings to hold and how to hold them. The book is full of ideas and illustrative stories from Guttman’s consultancy, but you never feel that he is selling his consulting services or holding back any information. getAbstract recommends this sensible and useful book to team managers and members.
Howard Guttman gives readers a sophisticated view of all the factors that go into creating high-performing, exceptionally successful teams. He doesn’t pretend that a single magic bullet can transform your team; instead, he provides a well-organized guide that shows you how leaders contribute, what team members must bring, why management support is needed to transform a good team into a great one and how coaching can accelerate a team’s transformation. The book provides a great discussion on how top teams make decisions, how they communicate, and how they decide which meetings to hold and how to hold them. The book is full of ideas and illustrative stories from Guttman’s consultancy, but you never feel that he is selling his consulting services or holding back any information. getAbstract recommends this sensible and useful book to team managers and members.
November 25, 2015
Great reference for working with teams
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews