Table of Contents

Publisher's acknowledgements

Authors' acknowledgements

1          Unleash the talent of virtuoso teams: Managing and leading a very special kind of team

2            Stretch the customer, stretch ourselves: The impolite team behind West Side Story

3        The critical ingredients for critical mass: Using time pressure to trigger talent in the Manhattan Project

4        Drive change inside and outside the team: Creating revolution on demand in Thomas Edison’s invention factory

5                   Go faster by knowing more: Roald Amundsen’s team learns its way to polar success

6            Deliver great results, week by week: Balancing freedom with direction under Sid Caesar’s leadership

7                   Lead talent with trust: Miles Davis creates serial innovation through listening and improvisation

8        Hot teams in a cold climate: Norsk Hydro breaks the rules for a fast recovery in the face of adversity

9                   Turbo-charge your own team: How you can lead your team for high performance

Appendix 1: A how-to guide

Appendix 2: Three examples of DeepDive agendas

Appendix 3: Sample of materials used in a DeepDive

Index

Back Cover

“A fantastic study of creative teamwork”

Director

READ ABOUT A VERY SPECIAL KIND OF TEAM – THE VIRTUOSO TEAM

When a project is big enough, important enough, different enough, a good team is not enough. You need the best. Not just the best available, but the very best there is. Virtuoso Teams is an eye-opening read about some of the crack teams that have come together to achieve extraordinary results. These all-star teams are full of the world’s experts and full of egos, conflict and volatility as well, but also bursting with creativity, talent and drive. Virtuoso teams don’t come together very often, but when they do: WOW! Sparks fly and history can be made!

From transforming jazz with Miles Davis to triumphing in polar exploration with Roald Amundsen, Virtuoso Teams is a breathtaking read about seven very different virtuoso teams that tore down the boundaries in their fields and achieved the impossible. It will leave you reeling with awe but fired up with inspiration.

Author

Professor Andy Boynton
Dean, The Wallace E Carroll School of Management, Boston College

Professor William A. Fischer
Professor, Technology Management, IMD, Lausanne, Switzerland