"What a pleasure to read... the case studies are excellent."
The Financial Times, July 2005
Lead a very special kind of team. The virtuoso team.
At the heart of a great change or creative breakthrough you will often find a dynamic
team of inspired individuals who work together to break out of the common place and make
something remarkable happen. A team that generates more creativity, more energy and
the very best performance.
This is a book about those revolutionary teams that are catalysts for big change and
breakthrough performances. Unlimited by the conventional approach to teamwork Virtuoso
Teams are frequently contentious and always less comfortable, but if you can pull
together the right people and manage them in the right way, the results can be
extraordinary. Virtuoso teams don't last forever, but their members almost always
go on to become leaders in their field's next generation.
The rules of the game are different for virtuoso teams and their leaders. This
book will show you how to play to the standards of some of the greatest uncompromising,
creative and catalytic teams of our times. Andy Boynton & Bill Fisher introduce
you to some of the most compelling and wide-ranging stories of remarkable team leadership
ever assembled, from Miles Davis, a serial innovator who surrounded himself
with virtuoso talent at least three times, to change the face of jazz, to Thomas
Edison, The Manhattan Project to West Side Story. Find out how these teams set
out to revolutionize their worlds, and how you can build and manage a Virtuoso Team of
your own.
Whether you're launching an innovative new product or service; entering into
challenging new markets or simply trying to transform the way you operate, virtuoso teams
can make the difference between achieving a high-impact success and just another modest
outcome.
"I never thought I would be extolling the virtues of a book on Virtuoso Teams
unless it specifically pertained to baseball. Nevertheless here I am praising a book on
the advisability of developing Virtuoso Teams - regardless of the type of organization in
which you belong.
If you aspire to develop an organization of high-performers or take an organization of
high-performers to an even higher "next level"- Andy Boynton and Bill Fischer's
Virtuoso Teams is a definite must read!"
George Steinbrenner, Managing General Partner, New YorkYankees Baseball Club
"[Boynton and Fischer] offer a range of examples that is far more inspiring than
the usual. What a relief, and what a pleasure to read... the case studies are
excellent."
The Financial Times, July 2005
Professor Andy Boynton
Management, Director of the IMD Executive MBA program
Ph.D, MBA Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina
Professor William A. Fischer
Technology Management
DBA, George Washington University
Contents
Viruoso Teams
Lessons from Teams that Changed their World
Chapter 1
Unleash the talent of Virtuoso Teams
Managing and leading a very special kind of team
Chapter 2
Stretch the Customer, Stretch Ourselves
The impolite team behind West Side Story
Chapter 3
The Critical Ingredients for Critical Mass
Using time pressure to trigger talent in the Manhattan Project
Chapter 4
Drive Change Inside and Outside the Team
Creating Revolution on Demand in Thomas Edison's invention factory
Chapter 5
The More you Know the Faster you Go
Racing to the South Pole with Roald Amundsen's Explorers
Chapter 6
Deliver Great Results, Week by Week
Balancing freedom with direction under Sid Caesar's leadership
Chapter 7
Lead Talent with Trust
Miles Davis creates Serial Innovation through Listening and Improvisation
Chapter 8
Hot teams in a Cold Climate
Norsk Hydro breaks the rules for a fast recovery in the face of adversity
Chapter 9
Turbo-charge Your Own Team
How you can lead your team to high performance
Hardback, 224 pages