チームと情熱と誇り

Extreme Teams: Why Pixar, Netflix, Airbnb, and Other Cutting-Edge Companies Succeed Where Most Fail

Almost all great achievements, in business and society, are the result of small groups of people working together to achieve ambitious goals.

比較的に規模の大きな企業で、これをどのように実現していくか、ということに興味があった。

A flawed corporate strategy, for example, will doom a company even if its teams are operating in a highly effective manner.

こう言われてしまうと元も子もない、というか、これが本質なのかもしれない。

Whole Foods, for example, is one of the most innovative firms in the world in how it uses teams. But it is facing increased competition from larger organic stores such as Sprouts, as well as mainstream grocers such as Kroger and Walmart (who are now offering health-conscious customers lower-cost organic food).

Amazon is also starting to sell food via its Amazon Fresh delivery service. Its mainstream competitors now threaten to undermine the Whole Foods business model and its ability to grow (at least at a rate comparable to the past).

These threats will require effective strategic choices on the part of the firm’s senior leadership.

Netflix may see its business model eroded if augmented reality overtakes movies and TV as a dominant form of entertainment.

実際に Whole Foods は Amazon と合併したし、ジョン・ラセターの時代の Pixar は終わるのかもしれない。

Revolutionizing The Way We Work

Whole Foods: Number of employees: 86,000 - First, the company believes that people are by nature social beings who feel most comfortable when part of a small group.

second management principle shapes how teams operate at Whole Foods. The company believes teams function best when they embrace a set of company-wide practices.

third guiding principle at Whole Foods is a belief in the benefits of being open and transparent as a company.

この本でとりあげられている企業のうち Whole Foods と Alibaba は従業員数が他と一桁違う。とくに目新しいことは書かれていない印象で期待外れ。

Pixar: Number of employees: 1,200 - The goal in striving to get people who can work well together is not to create a team of clones.

フェイス・ブックは成長期にクローンを集めて成功した例、Pixar はその対極にある。

They want people who are passionate, even obsessed, about their work and also care deeply about their coworkers and their firms.

People view Whole Foods and Pixar as “soft” cultures, but each has robust processes and practices where needed.

Results and Relationships

Netflix: Number of employees: 2,450 - Netflix views professional sports teams as the best metaphor for what it wants to achieve—a group where individuals are replaced by others if they can’t provide what the group needs given the challenges it faces.

これも、とくに新しくはない、むしろ古いやり方とも思える。

Practice 1) Fostering a Shared Obsession

Patagonia: Number of employees: 2,000 - They often have a cult-like quality, seeing themselves as unique and destined to improve the world. These teams also have a deep faith in their ability to overcome adversity.

Contrast this approach to conventional teams whose members often view their work as tasks to be done, even professionally, but with no shared passion for their work or the team’s larger reason for being.

この手法は管理がたいへん。ほかの人が思いつきもしないアイディアがでるか、でないかを待つより、タスクの進捗を管理していたほうが、はるかに簡単。

人数が増えるにつれプロ・スポーツ・チーム管理や別のタイプに変わっていくはず。

一方でタスク管理重視の弊害も大きい。「そうですか、ちょっとやってみますか」という仕事が入る余地がない。今月は埋まっているので出来ませんとなる。

Practice 2) Valuing Fit over Experience

Zappos: Number of employees: 1,400 - They hire and promote people who fit their culture.

Contrast this approach with conventional teams where members are often selected based on their past experience or functional skills.

Practice 3) Focusing More, then Less

Airbnb: Number of employees: 2,400 - They dedicate the vast majority of their time to these priorities and go to great lengths to avoid distractions (including unnecessary processes and controls). These teams, however, also develop approaches that provide the time, resources, and autonomy needed to creatively explore new opportunities for growth beyond their firm’s current products and services.

Contrast this approach to conventional teams whose members often focus on a wide range of priorities and are easily distracted by less critical demands.

Practice 4) Pushing Harder, Pushing Softer

The culture of these teams is tougher in driving for measurable results on a few highly visible targets. These teams are also willing to openly deal with their own weaknesses and take action on those who are underperforming. At the same time, these teams are softer in terms of being more supportive in creating environments that foster collaboration, trust, and loyalty.

Practice 5) Taking Comfort in Discomfort

Alibaba: Number of employees: 34,000 - These teams believe that fighting over the right issues, regardless of the discomfort it causes, results in better outcomes.

やり方のみを見れば、アリババは GE 流のマネージメントで成長した企業。そういう意味では古い。

この本による Conventional とは、ひと昔前のことで、Extreme とは、さらにそれより昔の手法が一巡して戻ってきたものとも読める。

良いものをつくれば売れる時代が去り、同じように（成績の）良い人を雇えばいいという時代も終わったのかもしれない、とは言え大量雇用と人海戦術という時代でもなくなり、何を基準に少数精鋭すればいいのか。

アリババの出した答えは、「情熱」らしい。

プロ・スポーツ・チームを率いる厚い情熱もあれば、カルト的(?)な内に秘めた静かな情熱もあるだろう。それは情熱というよりは「誇り」。情熱は目に見えてわかりやすいが、この人は何に誇りを持っているのだろう？という問いに答えるには、もうすこし多変量な読みが必要。このへんが社会の多様化と一致しているのかもしれない。

スタンフォード大学でイノベーションとクリエイティビティを教える Tina Seelig 教授によれば、

Before it’s your passion, it’s something you know nothing about.

情熱をもった人と、自分が誇りをもてるものを見つけることができる人。起業家と寄業人の少数精鋭のチームが、これからの社会を変えていく。