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What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team
Article

What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team

New Research Reveals Surprising Truths About Why Some Work Groups Thrive and Others Falter.

Charles Duhigg
The New York Times Magazine, 2016
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8

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  • Innovative
  • Eye Opening
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Recommendation

What makes some teams successes and others failures? Why can team dynamics be either energizing or draining? This article describes Google’s quest for a formula to optimize teamwork. Charles Duhigg, a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for The New York Times, explains Google’s findings on its analysis of group dynamics. getAbstract recommends these insights to managers looking for methods to motivate teams, create a constructive working environment and improve group productivity.

Summary

In a time of global commerce, teamwork is more important than ever before. In the last two decades, teamwork in businesses has increased by 50% or more, and interpersonal communication accounts for 75% of an employee’s day. Businesses can’t afford to underestimate the power of strong teams.

Google’s “Project Artistotle” investigates why some teams work better than others. Its analysis shows that the combination of individuals making up the group is unimportant. Instead, a team’s “group norms” – its “traditions, behavioral standards...

About the Author

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter for The New York Times. He is the author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better, from which this article is adapted.

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