SmartTribes: How Teams Become Brilliant Together
*Starred Review* Impressively, Rules for Renegades (2007) author and consultant Comaford creates a concrete plan for corporate change (and growth and performance) without mentioning the actual word change. That is a good thing, since more than half of initiatives labeled “change” just don’t hit their mark. The author’s selling point is the use of neuroscience, or what are called “meta-programs,” to influence and guide teams emotionally, psychologically, motivationally in order to move people from the “Critter State” (of fear) to the “Smart State” of innovation and high performance. Before she begins to explain how to step into another individual’s “Maps” (that is, behavior and attitudes), she presents an important section on the five qualities that define top-performing teams (or “Smart Tribes”): focus, clarity, accountability, influence, and sustainable results. There are three essential keys to starting your Smart Tribe, four factors of a sustainable team, six meta-programs that affect outcomes, and so on. What makes her presentation so contemporary are her sidebars, anecdotes, and end notes covering “Stuck Spots” (one where no one understood the CEO’s vision) and when employees no longer care about customers’ experiences. --Barbara Jacobs