Dream Teams: Working Together Without Falling Apart

Why do so many partnerships and groups break down - and why do a select few break through spectacularly?

We all know that the best teams are more than the sum of their parts, but collaboration so often fails to fulfill this promise. Studies and statistics reveal unambigously that individuals consistently outperform teams.

But there are a small number of teams that defy the odds. This book is about those Dream Teams: the creative agencies, rap groups, social movements, and ragtag armies that manage to pull off amazing things together, far beyond what any individual could do.

Shane Snow takes us on an adventure through history, neuroscience, psychology and business to reveal what separates groups that simply manage to get by from those that get better together.

Drawing on the history of the FBI and law enforcement, Snow explains how to leverage team members' diverse perspectives and experiences. He reveals why DaimlerChrysler, one of the biggest mergers of all time, flopped while the Wu-Tang Clan succeeded - and the one factor that predicts failed mergers, marriages and partnerships. Through the example of the Wright Brothers, he teaches partners and groups how to fight with each other productively. And he dissects great social movements throughout history to decode the science of becoming open-minded, from the integration of Jews into Argentinean society to the shockingly fast acceptance of gay rights in 20th century America.

Provocative and entertaining, Dream Teams is a landmark work that will change the way we think about people, progress, and collaboration.