Dilemmas of Team-Based Organizations, The

Many organizations today have flattened their traditional hierarchies and redistributed work to multi-functional teams. Although easily launched with the promise of decreasing cycle time, improving quality, and increasing customer satisfaction, most teams find it difficult in practice to reach their potential.

With a bias toward the pragmatic, Dr. Meyer suggests how to avoid "teaming": the deadly reflex reaction to form a team regardless of the situation. He addresses the tradeoffs and downsides of teams, but then proceeds to detail fifteen key architectural elements that help create productive teams that work effectively—and can actually fulfill their promise.

Christopher Meyer, PhD, is an internationally-recognized expert in technology management and innovation. He is the author of the book "Fast Cycle Time: How to Align Purpose, Strategy, and Structure for Speed" and the groundbreaking article "How the Right Measures Help Teams Excel," published in the Harvard Business Review.