Team of Teams
New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World
by Stanley A. McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, Chris Fussell · first published 2015
94% recommend6% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Draws on McChrystal's rebuilding of a special forces task force in Iraq around decentralized decisions, transparency and adaptability. Suits tech managers and leaders handling complex, fast-changing work.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
As commander of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), General Stanley McChrystal played a crucial role in the War on Terror. But when he took the helm in 2004, America was losing that war badly: despite vastly inferior resources and technology, Al Qaeda was outmaneuvering America's most elite warriors. McChrystal came to realize that today's faster, more interdependent world had overwhelmed the conventional, top-down hierarchy of the U.S. military. Al Qaeda had seen the future: a decentralized network that could move quickly and strike ruthlessly. To defeat such an enemy, JSOC would have to
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…management books. Leadership is something all humans do – software management is about managing creative people. Some other books I recommend are: • Creativity, Inc by Ed Matmull • Crucial Conversation • Team of Teams For email newsletters, I recommend Software Lead Weekly (https://softwareleadweekly.com/) and Better Allies (https://betterallies.com/more-content/). Lastly, I also write a blog called Build the Stage…
on “Ask HN: Books to read when you transform from SWE into SWE Management?” ↗…else's email from the start. Home seems like a more modern way to share, and this type of transparency really helps eliminate a lot of problems that organizations experience when scaling up. The book Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal is essentially all about how the US military transformed itself from a top-down organization a team of teams that can operate effectively in a connected, digital world. Knowledge…
on “Stripe Home” ↗One recommendation from a perhaps unexpected quarter for new working styles is Gen. Stan McChrystal's superb book "Team of Teams". It covers his tenure running special forces in Iraq and how he rebuilt his organization into one where decisions were pushed as far to the edges as possible and how he tried to remove himself from as…
on “Zappos’ experiment to end the office workplace” ↗…complexity of work, with unchanged or at best slowly increased ability to cope with it. For a great overview and insight into this shift (and how to tackle it), check out Gen Stanley McChrystal's book, "Team of Teams."
on “Silicon Valley Has Not Saved Us from a Productivity Slowdown” ↗Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal. Fundamentally about being agile, adaptable, transparent, collaborative and decentralised. You could say it's about digital transformation but on a military scale. An excellent…
on “Ask HN: What book did you read in 2016 that was so good you gifted it to others?” ↗See for example Team of Teams by General Chrystal--which is also a good book about organization/business generally.
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗Here is a good starting point: https://hbr.org/2015/08/what-companies-can-learn-from-milita... Team of Teams from McChrystal is a great book.
on “What Google Learned from Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team” ↗…small pockets of hope in the Lean movement, Kaizen/continuous improvement, and in those who know and understand Deming management philosophy. For a great modern take, read General Stanley McChrystal's "Team of Teams."
on “Silicon Valley Has Not Saved Us from a Productivity Slowdown” ↗Extreme Ownership by Joko Wilink Team of teams by Gen. Stan McChrystal Both of these are required reading for understanding how humans work together.
on “Ask HN: Non-tech books that have helped you grow professionally?” ↗I think I would add "Team of Teams," co-authored by General Stanley A. McChrystal. It blew my mind when I read it a year ago at how relevant it is to working in tech, and was a fascinating read in improving how folks make decisions in…
on “Military Reading List” ↗…successful builder, doesn’t necessarily qualify me as a capable engineer. My network/community/org building has been informed by “Team of Team” by Stan McChrystal and “One Mission” by Chris Fussell. Team of Teams is the macro to the One Mission micro. What also informed our network/community/orgs the failure of Arab Spring, Tea Party, and Occupy Movement. Being a student of unconventional warfare and counter-insurgency…
on “Organization after Social Media” ↗I strongly recommend the following: Good to Great: Why some companies make the leap and Others Don't The Goal: A process of Continuous Improvement Team of Teams Strategy that Works: Bridging the Stategy to Execution Gap There isn't a single book that will teach you everything you need to know, but these 5 books taken together will cover nearly everything. The…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗eh, the book Team of Teams is pretty good for that https://www.amazon.ca/Team-Teams-Rules-Engagement-Complex/dp... when the best of the best is beaten by people that barely know to use guns.
on “82nd Airborne unit told to use Signal or Wickr on government cell phones” ↗Another recommended book out of the military is Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World by General Stanley McChrystal.
on “Ask HN: What makes a good technical leader – any recommended books?” ↗Team of Teams by Stanley McChrystal Although the first third was a slog (a simplistic history of management), the rest was filled with great insights in every page. I read those very slowly, almost meditating, because…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗