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Why do certain groups of smart, talented
people produce greatness while others never live up to their
potential? How do some managers with excellent skills lead
their organizations to amazing feats while others fall short?
The answers to those vital questions lie in the remarkable
workings of a Great Group.
In Organizing Genius, America's most
respected leadership expert teams with a veteran journalist
to explore the forces that foster creative collaboration.
By analyzing six histories of Great Groups -- from the Manhattan
Project to the teams that developed today's personal computer
-- Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman uncover the
secrets of collective genius.
Their findings illuminate every field, from
business to the arts, from education to politics. All Great
Groups, they conclude, aim to do more than fix a problem;
they're out to change the world. And they do. From the Disney
Feature Animation unit, which rewrote our myths on the silver
screen, to the top-secret Skunk Works airplane factory at
Lockheed, Great Groups have accomplished more than anyone
thought possible.
Organizing Genius captures the spirit
of discovery that pervades Great Groups. It describes the
free-form organization of such teams, more interested in
their mission than their hierarchy. The authors discuss
how Great Groups believe both that they're underdogs up
against a powerful foe and that they're bound to succeed,
like the 1992 Clinton presidential campaign, Organizing
Genius also illuminates the roles of a Great Group leader
as a gatherer of talent, a source of inspiration, and a
bridge to the outside world.
Today all organizations require creative
thinking from every member, not just a few. The world's
complexity and pace mean that we can no longer rely on individual
leaders and "Lone Rangers" to solve our problems.
Rather, we must learn to work together, to identify our
own missions, to form our own Great Groups. The fascinating
stories and wise advice in Organizing Genius show
us how.
Warren Bennis is Distinguished Professor
of Business Administration at the University of Southern
California. His books Leaders (coauthored with Burt
Nanus) and On Becoming a Leader have made him the
nation's most respected expert on leadership. He has advised
four U.S. presidents and consults frequently with top corporations
and organizations.
Patricia Ward Biederman is a staff writer
for the Los Angeles Times
and was previously an award-winning columnist for the Buffalo
News. She specializes in feature
articles on cultural affairs.
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