A new classic that world-class management gurus keep on their bedside tables.
A must-read for field leaders and team members, now revised and expanded after four years!
“Throw all the other books into the water!”

*Amazon, [New York Times] bestseller
*[Washington Post], [Bloomberg], [Library Journal] Book of the Year
*Highly recommended by Shin Soo-jung, Adam Grant, Amy Edmondson, Charles Duhigg, and Seth Godin
*Newly included in the practical manual "60 Ways to Turn Teamwork into Art"

Since its publication in 2018, "What Makes the Best Teams Different" has been considered a must-read for global management gurus and field leaders, establishing itself as a "new classic" in the field of organizational management. Four years later, a revised and expanded edition has been published.
This book was highly recommended by the world's top business experts, including Shin Soo-jung, head of KT Enterprise, Amy Edmondson, professor at Harvard Business School, and Charles Duhigg, author of "The Power of Habit." Wharton School professor Adam Grant praised it so highly that he said, "You can throw all other books in the water."
It has also been cited by executives and team leaders who lead actual organizations as “a book that can be applied immediately” and “a book that team members want to read and discuss together.”
What secret lies behind this book that has earned it such consistent love?

Daniel Coyle, renowned journalist and bestselling author of The Talent Code, was uncovering the secrets of people with special talents for a New York Times cover story when he was suddenly struck by a question.
'Why do some groups become smaller than the sum of their individual abilities, while others grow larger?' He then travels to find the best organizations.
From Silicon Valley IT companies to US Navy SEALs, NBA basketball teams, and legendary thieves, after three years of relentless investigation, the secrets of their success are finally revealed.

The kindergarten team defeats the MBA teams and wins the tower-building mission.
Google, a small venture company, and the ragtag NBA basketball team, the San Antonio Spurs, defeat their elite rivals and become champions.
This book says that the secret lies not in individual talent or effort, but in three cultural codes.
Overturning the old adage that "competent people make a competent team," it scientifically analyzes the process by which close collaboration leads to high performance.
If you want to learn the secrets of success for the top 1% of organizations, and if you want to unleash the full potential and passion of your team members as a leader, open this book now.

Business school students appear to be helping each other, but in reality they are just obsessed with status management.
They find their role and place in the big picture.
Your mind is filled with thoughts like, 'Who is in charge?', 'Is it okay to criticize that person's ideas?', and 'What rules should I follow?'
We spend so much time protecting our positions instead of focusing on what needs to be done that we miss the real problem.
(……) Kindergarten children don’t win because they’re smart.
The reason they win is because they cooperate more cleverly.
If ordinary people gathered together used the same methods as children, they could achieve something greater than the sum of their abilities.
This book is about how this method works.
---From the "Prologue"

Google was a hotbed of belonging signals.
They worked shoulder to shoulder, safely connected to each other and immersed themselves in the project.
On the other hand, Overture, although well-funded and in a favorable position in many ways, was held back by rigid communication and bureaucratic systems.
Deciding on a single issue required numerous meetings and approval from multiple committees.
The overture's affiliation signal had to be relatively weak.
Google didn't win the billion-dollar game because it was smarter.
Because it was safer.
---「Chapter 2.
From “Why Affiliation Signals Are Important”

Spurs players gathered in the conference room to analyze the game against Oklahoma City.
The players sat down, trembling.
Everyone expected Popovich to go through all the mistakes they made the night before, detailing what they did wrong and what they could have done better.
Popovich silently showed the players a video: a CNN documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.
(……) The players thought, answered, and agreed with each other’s opinions.
Again they talked.
It was a common sight at Spurs.
Popovich led the conversation on topics such as the Syrian war, regime change in Argentina, same-sex marriage, racism and terrorism.
In fact, the subject matter didn't matter to Popovich, as long as he could convey just one message.
“We are all connected.” That fact was bigger and more important than basketball.
---「Chapter 3.
From "Analog Communication Methods that Break Down Relationship Barriers"

In the process of creating a team that boasts high performance and excellent teamwork, outstanding intelligence or extensive experience did not play a major role.
Rather, there was a closer relationship between the location and distance of the desk.
“The simple act of making eye contact and sharing each other’s traces at close range is more important than you might think.
Just seeing someone else's things or space while you're working can remind you of their presence, and this can have a huge impact.
(……) If you are on the same team but your colleagues are working on different floors, it is as if you are in different countries.”
---「Chapter 4.
From “Conditions for an organization that attracts people”

The mechanism of cooperation can be summarized as follows:
"We instinctively try to hide our vulnerabilities, but revealing them actually builds trust and fosters cooperation." This directly connects to the principles of teamwork.
As we will see shortly, cooperation does not suddenly diminish.
It is like a kind of 'group muscle', and communication is formed through repetition in a specific pattern.
A group of people expose their vulnerabilities, share risks, but ultimately share a rewarding process.
---「Chapter 5.
From “Why Vulnerability Links Are Essential”

We usually think of motivation and goals as being an innate part of an individual's nature.
From that perspective, people either have motivation or desire or they don't.
But what a series of experiments shows is that motivation is not something that is given, but rather something that is created through communication in a certain way.
"Your current address is here, and where you want to go is over there." This shared future can become a goal or lead to action.
Like Johnson & Johnson's slogan, "We put our customers' safety first," or the Navy SEALs' slogan, "We shoot, we move, we communicate."
It is important to create a connection and to have a continuous connection around it.
In other words, the key is to convey the ‘story.’

---「Chapter 8.
From “Setting a Common Milestone”

Catmull, tasked with reviving Disney as the world's leading animation brand, first overhauled the decision-making system.
The source of creativity is placed in the hands of the director, not the executives.
In the new system, directors were not assigned tasks, but came up with and pursued their own ideas.
Executives have moved beyond their role as directors to support the director and team.
(……) What happened? Since 2010, the Disney team has risen to the level of Pixar with the success of Tangled, Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Big Hero 6, and Zootopia.
Catmull emphasizes that there was virtually no turnover among employees during this process.
(……) Setting creative goals has little to do with creativity.
To foster innovation, you need to empower people, support those in power, and channel the group's energy in one direction.
The energy poured into a passionate, error-filled, and rewarding journey breathes life into creativity.
---「Chapter 10.
From “How to Create a Sustainable Team”

We tend to think that smart people who achieve great things are somewhat tolerable even if they have bad personalities or behave badly.
But that kind of thinking is wrong.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the former manager of Manchester United and considered one of the greatest managers in European football history, had only one principle that led the team to success for 27 years.
“You don’t need a player bigger than the team.” Numerous studies show that the negative impact of high-performing “smart idiots” on the group is greater than the benefits they bring.
A zero-tolerance policy toward such fools effectively sends a neon-blinking signal of belonging to its members.
No one, no matter how talented, is more important than the rest of the group.
---「Step 1.
From "No individual is greater than the team"

If you were to use only one of the 60 tips in this book, I recommend this one.
It's a post-mortem review.
This is a powerful tool for building trust based on simple facts: discussing the strengths and weaknesses of your accomplishments will improve group performance.
The Navy SEALs further refined AAR, the post-action review feedback tool that originated in the military, and it became the foundation for their unique teamwork.
After a project, sales call, or meeting, get your team together and discuss the following questions:
The goal of conversation is not to determine who deserves praise and who deserves blame.
It's about clarifying the situation so we can all learn together.

▶ What went well?
▶ What didn't go well?
▶ What will you do differently next time?

---「Step 2.
From “Actively share your weaknesses”