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Coyle’s book on business cultures centers on the theme that highly successful groups over-perform when they have healthy interactions. This trait – not smarts or good marketing or strong financial support – is what business leaders should focus on cultivating in the people they direct.
This theme is then explicated in a series of success stories from a variety of groups in fields like NBA basketball, the Navy Seals, restaurant service, and college hockey. Although the intellectual rigor seems to fall short of proving that they caused the successful results (Coyle only rarely cites studies that critically analyze these groups), it seems evident that these healthy behaviors correlate with success.
Another shortcoming lies in the fact that many, if not all, of these teams seem overtly male-oriented. I’m left curious about how predominantly female teams can maintain healthy group dynamics. Does gender play any role in the nature of a healthy culture or are gender dynamics independent of group dynamics? He does not, likewise, analyze culture on a global level. How do cultures different than America convey healthy group dynamics? How can international companies have healthy international teams?
Despite these weaknesses, Coyle provides a group of inspirational stories that can spark ideas for business leaders on how to lead healthy and productive teams. The focus is not merely on being nice but on getting the most out of a team. The stories are easy to relate to and interesting. Many deal with well-known entities in American culture. They universally take a new spin on team-work and provide good food-for-thought on how to transform the groups the reader works with into more successful teams.
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups
by Daniel Coyle
Copyright (c) 2018
Bantam
ISBN13 9780804176989
Audiobook
Genre: Business/Management
www.amazon.com