TEAM OF TEAMS: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

by General Stanley McChrystal

Our world today is full of rapid, unpredictable changes and complex inter-dependencies. Traditional organizational models—which were developed to optimize predictable systems—are no longer suited for these new challenges. The Team of Teams model allows the agility and dynamism of a small integrated team to be replicated on a large scale, both within an organization and with its partner organizations. General Stanley McChrystal uncovered this model when he led the US Joint Special Operations Task Force to change its structure and operations to counter the growing threat of Al Qaeda in Iraq. He later discovered that the Team of Teams model is also applicable to various complex environments from businesses to non-governmental organizations.

In this summary, you'll learn:
• The difference between complicated environments vs complex environments;
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of different organizational structures and the environments they are most suited for; and
• The 2 breakthroughs required to build a team of teams—shared consciousness and empowered execution—and how you can go about achieving them.

Who should read this:
• Business leaders, managers, executives, and teamwork/strategy consultants
• Leaders from profit and non-profit organizations looking for new approaches to fast-changing, complex environments