"Teams are the key to improving performance in all kinds of organizations. Yet today's business leaders consistently overlook opportunities to exploit their potential, confusing teams with teamwork, empowerment, or participative management. In 'The Wisdom of Teams,' two senior McKinsey & Company consultants argue that we cannot meet the challenges ahead-from total quality to customer service to innovation-without teams. Teams are turning companies around. Motorola relied heavily on teams to surpass its Japanese competition in producing the lightest, smallest, and highest-quality cellular phones. At 3M, teams are critical to meeting the company's well-publicized goal of producing half of each year's revenues from the previous five years' innovations. And from Desert Storm to life-saving surgeries, Kodak's Zebra Team proved the worth of black-and-white film manufacturing in a world where color was king. 'The Wisdom of Teams' includes dozens of stories and case examples involving real people and situations. Their accomplishments, insights, and enthusiasm are eloquent testament to the power of teams." Publisher's review

Prologue: a note about what to expect -- PART I. UNDERSTANDING TEAMS: Why teams? -- One team : a story of performance -- Team basics : a working definition and discipline -- High-performance teams : very useful models -- PART II. BECOMING A TEAM: The team performance curve -- Moving up the curve : from individual to team performance -- Team leaders -- Teams, obstacles, and endings : getting unstuck -- PART III. EXPLOITING THE POTENTIAL: Teams and performance : the reinforcing cycle -- Teams and major change : an inevitable combination -- Teams at the top : a difficult choice -- Top management's role : leading to the high-performance organization -- Epilogue: A call to action -- Appendix: Teams researched for book.