The Orange Revolution by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton

I reviewed a book previously by these authors (All In), and I might start a fan club. They’re darn good at what they do. I purchased The Orange Revolution a few months ago because I had a grand vision. When I read the subtitle (how one great team can transform an entire organization), I instantly started thinking about the team I was working in. Our Operations team touched on all areas of the corporate infrastructure. The Director of Operations was known to say that she would put our team up against any other due to the strong commitment and varied talents of our team. My challenge was filtering that down from the Operations group to the rest of the organization. So in true geek form, I bought a book.

What I liked

• Breakthrough teams have members who: demonstrate personal competency, expand their competency with leadership traits of goal setting, communication, trust, accountability, and recognition, clearly visualize the cause, follow the rule of 3 (wow others, no surprises, and cheer for others)
• Skilled leaders develop great teams by doing 4 things: ensure the right people join, translate corporate goals into team goals, facilitate great team conduct, and promote a culture of appreciation
• A common purpose is essential for a great team. Otherwise the “result is small-scale team anarchy, because… members come up with their own agendas.”
• Want to reconnect leaders who have lost touch with the business and customers? Force them to go through the customer process (buying a product, testing a service, etc.). It will give them a critical perspective that training and seminars never could.
• Why do people resist change? It could be a number of factors, including  fear of the unknown, comfort with the status quo, or personal agendas. It’s important to know which reason is the cause so you can counter it during the change management process.
• Would you go to bat for your team members? Would you put your own butt on the line to make sure they are successful? If not, what does that say about you? If so, does your team know that you’d do that?
• The best managers have the “basic 4 + recognition” in place–goal setting, communication, trust, accountability, and recognition. But what if it wasn’t just managers…
• What if the best teams were made up of members that also successfully implemented the “basic 4 + recognition” within the team? That is what creates great teams that can change an organization from the inside out. Good managers take care of those pieces and lead their teams well. Great managers not only do those things well, but they instill them in their team members so they also do them well. They have an exponential impact on the organization with that change.

As usual, I’m a sucker for a book on building strong teams and impacting the organization with a team of fanatics. If you’re looking for one that’s research-based with some great examples of how other companies are putting these activities into action, this one is for you. Click here to get your copy. Click here to check out other book reviews.