Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A new teamwork model that combines an internal focus with an external approach, 5 Jun 2007
Years ago, I read Organizing Genius in which co-authors Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman examine a number of what they call "great groups" that reveal "the secrets of creative collaboration." One of their most important points is introduced in the first chapter: "None of us is as smart as all of us." That is to say, the "Great Man" theory is invalidated by the achievements of truly creative teams such as those at the Disney studios which produced so many animation classics; at Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which developed the first personal computer; at Apple Computer which then took it to market; in the so-called "War Room" which helped to elect Bill Clinton President in 1992; at the so-called "Skunk Works" where so many of Lockheed's greatest designs were formulated; at Black Mountain College which "wasn't simply a place where creative collaboration took place. It was about creative collaboration"; and at Los Alamos (NM) and the University of Chicago where the Manhattan Project eventually produced a new weapon called "the Gadget."
I mention all this by way of introducing my reactions to X-Teams in which Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman assert that in recent years, the world has changed and the old model (i.e. one with an internal focus but lacking an external approach) "doesn't work so well anymore." The title of this book refers to teams that lead, innovate, and succeed in a rapidly changing environment. According to Ancona and Bresman, an X-team differs from a traditional team in three main ways. "First, to create effective goals, plans, and designs, members must go outside the team; they must have high levels of external activity...Second, X-teams combine all of that productive activity with extreme execution inside the team. X-teams develop internal processes that enable members to coordinate their work and execute effectively while simultaneously carrying out activity...Third, X-teams incorporate flexible phases, shifting their activities over the team's lifetime."
Note the emphasis on extensive ties to those outside the given organization who enable teams to venture beyond traditional boundaries, coordinate their activities, and adapt over time. Also, what Ancona and Bresman characterize as "expandable ties" that allow X-teams to structure themselves. Moreover, exchangeable membership maximizes options to include members who join and leave the team as well as to rotate leadership.
Ancona and Bresman carefully organize their material within three Parts. First, they examine the dominant "internal view" and explain how the business world has changed in fundamental ways (e.g. rapid and extensive expansion of the space of critical knowledge) and thereby rendering the old paradigm obsolete. Next, they build a framework to overcome the challenges. They outline the building blocks needed for teams to engage in "a complex web of complementary internal and external activities." Finally, in Part 3, Ancona and Bresman "pull it all together" as they explain how managers can make the X-team model work for them. In my opinion, the most important material is provided in Part 3 but its value can only be used to maximum advantage if absorbed, digested, and applied within the context created by Parts 1 and 2.
Ancona and Bresman duly note that the traditional model (i.e. one that is internally focused and self-reflective) "works well for groups that do not need to rely on the external environment in which they function." The number of such groups seems to be decreasing, however. All of the changes and consequent challenges that Ancona and Bresman examine in this book suggest the need for a new kind of leadership, "distributed leadership," one that functions at all levels and in all areas of operations. There is also a need for more effective communication, cooperation, and collaboration between senior management and all operational levels.
Although all of the exemplary organizations that Ancona and Bresman examine are large (e.g. BP, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Motorola, Oxfam, Pharmaco, Southwest Airlines), I think that much of what Ancona and Bresman recommend - after appropriate modification, of course - can be of substantial benefit to much smaller organizations. For example, they can also engage in relatively high levels of external activity such as forging and then sustaining mutually-beneficial strategic alliances. However, as with much larger organizations, these smaller ones must remain committed to "extreme execution" within the given enterprise each day, even as these organizations proceed through Ancona and Bresman characterize as "flexible phases" (i.e. exploration, exploitation, and exportation) that may require them to change what they do and/or how they do it.
Not all organizations need an X-team. However, decision-makers in all organizations (regardless of size or nature) need to understand the X-team mindset which recognizes and appreciates the importance of "reaching out to far-flung islands of expertise" and of creating new synergies between and among all areas of operation by connecting and aligning "multiple people inside and outside the organization."
Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to read Henry Chesbrough's Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape in which he explains that an open business model uses a division of innovation labor "both in the creation of value and in the capture of a portion of that value. Open models create value by leveraging many more ideas, due to their inclusion of a variety of external concepts. Open models can also enable greater value capture, by using a key asset, resource, or position not only in the company's own business model but also in other companies' businesses."
Also Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution co-authored by Jeanne W. Ross, Peter Weill, and David Robertson as well as Richard Ogle's Smart World: Breakthrough Creativity and the New Science of Ideas.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
The X Factor? , 19 May 2008
The `X' in the title of this book refers to the external focus of the teams studied by Ancona and Bresman. They contrast this external focus with the internal focus that they attribute to most team development activities and writings. Their premise is that this inward looking produces teams who get on well together, but do not necessarily deliver. Having thus differentiated themselves from the majority of other books and research on teams, they then - in my opinion - fall into the same trap as many popular texts in that they focus on the successes of a few, senior level teams involved in major organisation change activities. This makes a good read, but often leaves the average reader - who is working in a less exhaled or visible role - unable to relate to the messages. It is a similar problem where books on leadership often focus on the stories of some charismatic political, business or military leader which is beyond the comprehension of most managers and team leaders.
For the writers, who are professors at, respectively, MIT's Sloan School of Management and INSEAD, an X-team differs from a traditional team in three ways - its high levels of external activity coupled with extreme execution inside the team and flexible phases of activity moving from exploration through exploitation to exportation. Whilst being descriptive and creative, this repetitive - and sometimes contrived - use of the `X' in the descriptions might affect some more sensitive readers!
The case study examples are broadly based and informative. The organisations profiled include Microsoft, Motorola, BP, Proctor & Gamble, Oxfam and Meryll Lynch, covering a range of industries and situations that show the application of the ideas. There is no doubt that X-teams produce creative results and are very proactive in getting them implemented, providing that intrapreneurial spirit that organisations have been seeking for years. There is also no doubt that there are some significant lessons to be learned from this research into how teams need to have a balance of external and internal focus in order to be fully effective in today's fast-paced business environment. I would have liked a little more made of these lessons and how the average team leader could take them on board and improve their own performance. But for someone who is willing to put in the effort to translate the messages to their own environment, this is a useful challenge that will help break out of more traditional thinking.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A methodology for managing teams and projects., 3 Dec 2007
Years of research show that a team that focuses solely on internal team building is likely to fail. The "X-team" emphasizes external activity, and a flexible membership and leadership structure. Deborah Ancona and Henrik Bresman write that such a team is not only more likely to succeed, but will often exceed managerial expectations. This book, divided into three sections, tells you why some teams fail, how to create one that works and how to manage it through every phase of a project. The authors make liberal use of examples from major corporations, such as BP and Microsoft, to illustrate all their principles. The terminology is somewhat proprietary, but the approach makes a great deal of sense. We recommend this book to managers and team members alike.
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by Howard Gardner
by Gary Hamel
by Rob Goffee
