The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups - The Culture Code

This is a superb book with an audacious goal – what can organizations and their leaders learn from other organizations like Zappos, Pixar, the New Zealand All-Blacks, the San Antonio Spurs, and SEAL Team Six, to name just a few? And if not quite scientific, the methodology Coyle employs is an objective and heartfelt search for pattern.

I admit that I bought this book with a fair amount of skepticism. Having spent four decades attempting to lead organizations in one capacity or another I have devoted countless hours in both personal and shared attempts to reverse engineer the secret sauce of success. My ultimate conclusion: about the only thing successful leaders share in common is success itself. Reality is always defined in context and context comes in an infinite array of colors and shades.

I will eagerly admit that Coyle made more progress in dispelling me of that notion than I would have wagered. He looked hard and, to his credit, he was clearly looking for an answer, not just a best seller. Authenticity comes up again and again in his analysis and if there is a secret sauce I think both that authenticity is a main ingredient and Coyle himself has it in abundance. (Which undoubtedly explains, in part, why he is such a successful author.)

In the end, however, he didn’t quite get me over the finish line. Not for lack of trying or for anything wanting in his research or his writing. Both are superb and this book deserves to be one of the top performers of 2018.

Perhaps I am just a romantic for the inexplicable beauty of inspiration. Perhaps I don’t want to see it fully explained. Perhaps I still hold out hope that we place just a little too much hope in the rationality of science. Not because I don’t embrace science to the core; but because I find curiosity to be so compelling and I never tire of the uniquely human joy of wonder.

A very good book. I highly recommend it.

I’m a manager at a small engineering firm of about 40 people with a great company culture, but could improve in some aspects. I heard about this book on a podcast and bought it hoping that it would allow me to name some of the things we already do and to get insights on how to improve. I wasn’t disappointed and I highly recommend it.

Much of this book echos experiences I’ve had in the Marines and in study abroad experiences. Many of the challenges are ones I’ve seen over and over again in corporations and entrepreneurial companies. Great to have a simple tool set to remind me to focus on the team!

- Really enjoyed the in-depth look inside high performance teams like Pixar, IDEO and Navy Seals
- Summary chapters provided easy to implement strategies
- Recommend for leaders aiming to create winning cultures
- Gave 5 stars for the quality of reporting, timeless concepts and practical summaries

Management books are often formulaic, repetitive, and consist of theoretical concepts rather than proven, real-world-tested practices. The Culture Code is not one of those books. I have participated in and led a variety of teams for over 20 years, and as I progressed through Coyle’s work I found myself alternately recognizing and discovering the human minutia that forms and sustains successful, purpose-driven teams. Coyle effectively combines clearly presented principles with engaging and relevant stories of how well-known organizations use these principles to create singular and sustained success. I recommend this succinct gem for anyone who is committed to creating high performing organizations and teams.

Interesting read, good examples, plenty of thought-provoking concepts. I appreciate that it's given me some tangible practices that are easy to deploy at work and in other group settings. I'm enjoying reading it. I still have a ways to go before finishing the book, but I was struck pretty early on by the fact that the examples all seem to be men. Men working in male-dominated fields. I hope that at some point the book will provide some diversity in the examples it uses.

Coyle adopts a narrative that is almost identical to his earlier work - The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born. It's Grown. Here's How. - where he argued that talent can be grown by focusing on three foundational elements (practice, motivation, coaching). Here, he employs a similar strategy of deriving insights from real-life examples and behavioral sciences research to postulate that well-functioning teams can be built around three pillars ("skills") - safety, vulnerability, and purpose. One could argue whether these three are complete in itself or defined apriori by the author, or derived from his observations; that maybe somewhat limiting approach to the book. Anyone who needs to lead a team (with a formal managerial title or not; professional or non-business contexts) or even desirous of being part of a team is well-served by the examples. Each of the three sections in the book, each focusing on one of the skills, ends with a chapter that gives pithy and actionable set of ideas one could consider to experiment with; that alone is worth the read. Pop psych genre is often critiqued by trying to oversimplify observations or that there aren't enough control studies, or that causation and correlations are often confused. Coyle sidesteps some of these issues by focusing on a few detailed examples and offering insights as well-formed hypotheses; overall, an entertaining and informative read that can help a reader evaluate strategies (assuming an execution based on authencity, and not formulaic) around team building and even extend to how we may form social connections.

Creating culture is a struggle for all businesses and management teams. If in 2018 you don't know the value of a powerful and effective culture you are probably in the throes of massive competition (and probably losing) or you are having an internal struggle.

In the Culture Code, Daniel Coyle, in the systematic way that he processes and presents information lays out exactly what it takes to create a culture that works. He lays out through narrative and dissection of everything from the Tylenol tampering scare to SEAL Team 6, exactly how cultures form and are specifically designed to BE formed. He also shows what is needed from management for people experiencing the culture to adapt it and take it on as their own, then share it organically through their behavior.

Mr. Coyle does a great job of identifying which behaviors build effective cultures and which destroy cultures. He guides us through the process of developing a culture using three core skills:

1. Saftey
2. Vulnerability
3. Purpose

While those may seem to be rehashed ideas from a thousand management books, it is the application of the ideas specific to culture building that makes a difference. Of course, many components of a culture rely on a continuous series of small activities in order to create the ultimate outcome but when couched inside the three key skills, those things tend to happen more automatically.

I found this book to be very informative and it took me longer to read than I anticipated because I found myself stopping and making notes about things that I wanted to implement and thinking through how they would apply specifically. I suspect that I'll be referring back to this book regularly and probably even rereading yearly to continue to improve my efforts.

This is a very solid book for senior managers and would be in my top 25 books for CEOs to have at the ready to create a better company.

A look at what "secret ingredients" turn a team into a family. Coyle interviews businesses, sports teams, schools, and military groups recognized for their successful teamwork and family-like feel to find common ingredients while also looking at research in this area. His findings provide clear steps any group can use to help turn their team into a solid knit unit.

My husband and I are in charge of the Senior Council at our school each year, and I read this with the newly elected group for next year in mind. How I can help four elected individuals who may or may not be friends work well with each other to lead their class and in turn create good groups out of their peers as they work on fundraising for Senior trip. I came away from this with some great ideas for how to help do that, and none of it is stuff that will require money or special equipment. My husband came away with ideas for his classroom and basketball team too. Coyle's research was fascinating, very readable, and highly suggested for anyone who is trying to turn a group of random people into a close-knit group.

Notes on content: About five or six f-bombs in quotes. A small handful of mild swearing also in quotes. No sexual content. Some military operations that result in deaths are related but in very removed terms, so it isn't gory at all.

Really good. And that's high praise for a culture book subtitled The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, 'cos that screams click bait blah blah garbage to me. Instead, this is original thinking, original examples, thoughtful presented, which all leads to actionable takeaways.

Got to the end, realizing how good it was, and now want to start again paying attention with a highlighter. I'm an airline captain with a masters in psychology. I've thought about group performance! This is easily a five-star book, nothing re-cycled, easy reading, deep insights. Can you tell I liked it?

As the newbie at your job, you slowly observe the company culture. From the interactions between staff members to the connection between staff and supervisor, success is a result in good vibes between everyone and how each individual is able to accomplish his or her own tasks.
The book The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle brings together the types of cultures in a wide range of companies. While some build a culture for safety, others share its vulnerabilities or establish its purpose. Each is successful in its own way and works towards its purpose.
Coyle lays out many company cultures describing each as if the reader is right there in the room. It's amazing to see how there is more than one "right" culture.

Personally, I have worked for many companies in my lifetime. Each culture seemed to be in this book. Some cultures are more successful than others in its particular niche or purpose.
This book was provided complimentary for an honest review.

Which team would you prefer to work as a part of, one where, “Instead of focusing on the task, they are navigating the uncertainty of one another, ” or one where “They stand shoulder to shoulder and work energetically together? They move quickly, spotting problems and offering help.” Seems like a no-brainer, right? Yet, my impression is that the latter is still rare and that for many leaders, focusing on creating and maintaining great team dynamics, is not even on their agenda.

The author outlines Three Key Skills: Build Safety, Share Vulnerability and Establish Purpose and provides clear actions and examples that help clarify and guide the process, eg: Be Ten Times As Clear With Your Priorities As You Think You Should Be. The reader is therefore very clear about the change she needs to make and how to go about it. Coyle describes Culture as, “a set of living relationships working towards a shared goal.” This suggests it needs constant attention. It will never be done and yet, I can’t think of a business that wouldn’t want this. Having set our goals, we want to achieve success and move forward.

I did find some of the stories just a little long, and so detracted from the thread, at times. On balance though, I enjoyed the book very much and certainly recommend it.

My thanks to the #NetGalley, the author and Random House Business Books for the free copy for my review, it is much appreciated.

I received a free Kindle copy of The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle courtesy of Net Galley and Random House, the publisher. It was with the understanding that I would post a review to Net Galley, Goodreads, the store, Barnes and Noble and my nonfiction book review blog. I also posted it to my Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Plus pages.

I requested this book as I have read a great deal about corporate culture and the development of teams. This is the first book by Daniel Coyle that I have read.

The subtitle of this book, "The Secrets of Highly Successful Teams", is an appropriate description of what the content is all about. Coyle presents his material using several different groups across a wide spectrum of business, professional sports and other groups. His writing style makes it an enjoyable and easy to follow and understand read. He also presents concrete evidence that the approach that he outlines works, but not without a lot of work and mistakes along the way.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in improving their business through culture development or even those who want to incorporate the principles in improving their relationships.

Coyle has put together a good book here. There are three basic sections: Build safety, share vulnerability, and establish purpose -- all are definitely needed to build a solid team of people who work well together. Throughout the text you'll find facts and stories to back up those facts. Sometimes there's a lot of stories, but since people remember the stories, it all helps. They drive home the core principles people need to learn. In his "Ideas for Action" chapter, his list of action items are spot on and straightforward.

As an aside, I've been teaching emotional intelligence and teambuilding in corporate America as well as internationally for nearly 30 years, and I'm the author of the best-selling Creating Passion-Driven Teams. In my company's Workplace Excellence course, which we teach over the course of several months, each manager must choose from a list of books to read and give a presentation on that book at the end of the course about what they learned from that book. Coyle's Culture Code book is definitely going on the list of books my clients can choose to read.

When an author devotes years in their quest to write a book that has not only accurate information, but many new insights, I am interested in reading it. Daniel Coyle shares his study of who are highly successful groups and what made / makes them successful. I highly recommend this work for any leader - of any organization, profit or non-profit. To take one of the comments about the book from Andy Ward, VP at Random House "A blueprint for leaders who want to understand, nourish, and tap into the power of group intelligence."

Cohesive, informative, brilliantly written!! There is so much information in this wonderful book that teaches you all about how successful groups work and how there is a deeper language that exists from the unknowing eye.

From the first sentence I was hooked, "CULTURE: from the Latin cultus, which means care."

This book is absolutely essential for understand the workplace, society, the dynamics that exist in large families and everything regarding a group across the board. What I love the most about this book is the (obvious) depth of research the author engaged in to bring the entire book full circle to a cohesive and well thought out understanding about what exists within any group in our culture.

This book is RICH with stories about both successful, as well as non-successful groups, and how you can apply the research to your own group and build a creative, proficient and hugely successful team or workplace. Chapter 17 titled, "Ideas for action" is where I really loved and could feel the author caring about me. He doesn't just explain who, what or why..... he ends with HOW to build and understand where you are right now, and how to be successful.

Reading this book gave me NEW eyes to whatever company I walk into. Why is this company so successful? What can I do to improve the culture and the safety in both of my businesses? Where is the crisis? And how can I use what is already happening to understand what I can do to move forward with what I have and make it better. Sigh...... Sometimes there are just NOT enough words to tell a reader to buy a book..... So if you are reading this... I hope you buy the book!! Its a winner.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lately, I have been reading a lot of material similar to that of this book (team building, improving school culture, etc.), but Coyle's book contained a great deal of content that I had not previously encountered. I found the book engaging and enjoyed the diversity of well-chosen examples.

I don't think I could pin down any one audience for this book except to say that it is for anyone who wants to build a great cooperative group or improve one that they are already a part of. I was interested in this book because I am pursuing educational leadership, but I could see this book being useful to coaches, business leaders, parents, and more.

Solid 5 stars. I can't think of anything that could have made this book more enjoyable or informative for me.

I read a lot of business books focused on culture, growth, teams and coaching to ensure I'm continually learning and expanding my tools and techniques for my coaching and consulting practice. This books explores many concepts I was familiar with but takes a much deeper dive; a dive that held my interest and enhanced my work. After a while you tend to see the same studies and stories referenced in each book so one thing I enjoyed about The Culture Code is there were numerous stories I hadn't read or heard before. Daniel Coyle is a strong writer and the book was very educational and enjoyable to read. It provided examples from a wide array of industries and shared actionable tips.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early release of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is the best book I’ve ever read about company culture, and I’ve probably read them all. I’ve spent the last decade supporting some of the fastest-growing technology companies in Silicon Valley to build the kind of cultures that bring out the best in people. Daniel Coyle has gleaned a level of insight I have not seen before into what really makes the difference in developing culture. He shares specific, practical ideas and counterintuitive examples of how to create the level of safety and belonging that allows teams to collaborate effectively, unleash their creativity and perform at their best. I’ve been recommending this to all of my clients.

One of the best leadership books I’ve read in a while. This is a must read for anyone in a leadership role that is responsible for the results of a team or organization. This is also a great read as well for Human Resources professionals to support their own cultural initiatives and the leaders within their organizations to succeed. The examples provided throughout the book and research studies used from well known universities are very easy to grasp and so relatable if you’ve spent any amount of time leading a team or working within one.

This is an interesting book about building and optimizing teams. The author shares lessons learned from such diverse groups as the Navy Seals, PIxar and restaurateur Danny Meyer. the book is divided into three sections.: build safety,Share Vulnerability And Establish Purpose. the first two sections have six chapters and the last five. Each section ends with a chapter of "Ideas for Action". These contain suggestions to implement for your own purposes. I found the use of AARs (After Action Reviews) one of the easiest and most effective practices to use. I especially liked the portion where after a disastrous mission Navy Seal Dave Cooper worked to find a way around blind submission to rank. Doubt that most high powered muckety mucks in business, the arts or the military would have the intelligence and courage to agree but they should. Overall an interesting and engaging read with useful and usable suggestions forreal life.

This book is an absolute MUST have for anyone working! This book highlights the success and failures of business cultures. There is no better way to learn from other's mistakes without the cost! Beyond the business advice this book provides well-researched advice on how to deal with people and anyone can learn more about how better to deal with the people around them. I truly think this book is necessary reading for every adult. I'm adding it to my must have book list.

I’m old. I’ve never worked well within organizations, unless I had been brought in to resolve problems. I believe half the people are below the median in every measure.

In other words, I’m a cynic.

I believe you can teach the principles of leadership, but I don’t believe you can make everyone a leader. Some people have what it takes, but most don’t.

Does author Daniel Coyle more or less describe what goes into building a “culture”? For the most part, yes.

Does he succeed in offering instruction that will make a person a leader? Not really. He offers the same nostrums as every other writer of this genre.

Will slavishly imitating the “cultures” he describes help you create a culture in your organization? If you don’t already have the necessary charisma, communication ability, freedom to act and that ineffable belief that you’re doing the right thing, that you walk with Provenance, probably not.

Am I saying this book isn’t worth the time to read? Not at all. It provides lots of interesting insights into the dynamics of various organizations and that is always a good thing.

Just don’t expect miracles or miraculous transformations because you read this book.

Jerry

I was hesitant to read this book because I'm a freelancer in the film industry, and I don't work with the same company every day. It would be a shame if I let that excuse make me pass on this delightful book. This book is for everyone. The examples are entertaining and informative, and all the research and statistics are profound. After reading this book, I've become more aware of every single person and group I encounter. It's a very quick read, so spend a weekend picking up a few of the many tips and tricks in this book.

I have read several leadership books (some by choice, most by force) and I wholeheartedly can say that this one is HANDS DOWN the best one I’ve read so far. There were many leadership books along the way that were so boring or hard to relate to that I couldn’t even finish them. Not so with this one. When I got to the end, I found myself wishing there were more pages to read. Heck, I almost even read every word of the “Acknowledgments” section at the end!! So many of the concepts in the book really resonated with me and they were presented in a non-pretentious way. Furthermore, the cases that were highlighted were really well-researched. If you are a manager/leader or would like to be one some day, do yourself a favor and read this book!

Culture is a buzzword today, with lots of frothy stuff written about it. This book is the opposite of that. Grounded in research into the right issues, the book addresses the fundamental question we all have: why do some groups perform really well, while others do not? If you read only one book on culture and how to nurture strong teams, choose this one.

For those who want to build a successful team (and culture) this is one best guide. This book is for anyone who would like to learn from successful teams, organizations. I can't tell you how remarkably this book has been written. The book is well structured and articulated.

The book clearly conveys the message, and I am pretty sure that even the most successful teams will learn something new from this book. The stories, researches, each and every example covered in this book are brilliant, and they perfectly align with the content and finally convey the message precisely.

This book is a very interesting read on how to better understand how successful groups work together. The author adds great insight into the dynamics and purpose of these teams, and it is a very entertaining read. He draws on a variety of teams, including Seal Team 6, Pixar team, San Antonio Spurs, the team that acted during the Tylenol poisoning scare, and others, so not only do you get a behind-the-scenes look at the events, but you get an intimate look at the inner workings of the teams and how they worked through challenging situations. It is a very compelling read.

This is a great book! One of my all time favorites! I read 2 books before this one, both also very good (John Cook Dream Like A Champion & 3D Coaching), & this one was just as good. The stories are great, the tips/advice is great, & the information related to highly successful groups is also great. I think this is a great read for a coach of any sport who wants to learn more about building a good team culture & helping players build the mental aspect of their game.

An enjoyable read. It has lots of great stories about groups in various fields (SEALs, sports teams, corporate environments, creative companies, aircraft crew and more) and the various (often subtle) attributes that makes these teams successful.

This book has a surprisingly great deal of insights into highly successful teams. It takes conscious efforts to create the right culture. The book shows the way by stories and research results. There are concrete steps to implement the suggestions.

Essential reading/ listening to parents, coaches, business/professional leaders or teammates that want to make themselves and the people around them better, productive, happier at what they do. I have been using examples from the book at work, home, and with my son's soccer team. I started listening for a second time as soon as I finished the first. Highest recommendation.

As a physician specializing in medical simulation, I was really excited about this book. It's a readable narrative with a lot of applied academic simulation theory in it. Then I noticed that there were 11 women mentioned vs. 152 men.

11 women : 152 men. In a book about belonging cues.

This is either a glaring blind spot or a willful omission. Either way, it spoils the entire thing. I really wanted to enjoy this work, and was very disappointed to have it spoiled by the gross exclusion of women.

An audition for a corporate speaking tour, no more no less, one aimed squarely at the uppermost echelon of middle management and those who aspire to it, that indispensable cohort who hold the successful deployment of every company's core operational networks in their hands. Not long ago the corporate bromide being peddled was leadership and "the leader's voice", or manifestos on coaching and building effective teams. Here, Danny Coyle gives us culture, whereby the secret sauce can be absorbed as if by osmosis. Meanwhile, in the boardroom and c-suite, the beat goes on as it always has -- the toxic rivalries, the shifting alliances, the stock buybacks, The corporate raider and "activist" investor, the options and payouts, the structured separations, and the stream of cease and desist letters that inevitably follow. These fables are just that, a corporate myth to told to keep the compliant legions beavering away and the petty viceroys satisfied with divisional promotions ... meanwhile, those with real equity go about the real business of the business.

I am a pastor. I don’t run a business, nor do I work in that environment. Yet, I read these books from time to time with an eye on how to build relationships and learning new ways of doing things. There is a lot in here that a pastor can learn from as we shepherd our flocks. Such as the power of vulnerability. So often pastors want to cover up their mistakes or present themselves as unflawed, confident leaders that don’t need any help. Then we wonder why the congregation does not trust us and finds it difficult to come to us with their problems. It is hard to shepherd when you are shut out. In this book, we learn that the best leaders in the most successful cultures have a different way of approaching people. They show their vulnerability and it allows people to show theirs, to build trust and confidence in each other. That resonated with me. Also learning to listen.
It strikes me that often people feel stuck in jobs that they don’t like. They feel betrayed by coworkers who call in sick or don’t even bother. The culture is one of mistrust and betrayal. Management doesn’t know what to do, and the people being managed even less so. This book shows that you don’t have to be in management to start making the difference. You can learn to diffuse problems, communicate joy and interest and make a group start working more effectively and cohesively even if you are the one being “managed.” You can change your hostile work environment into a friendly one, but it takes awareness, and a willingness to face challenges.

Coyle has put together a good book here. There are three basic sections: Build safety, share vulnerability, and establish purpose -- all are definitely needed to build a solid team of people who work well together. Throughout the text you'll find facts and stories to back up those facts. Sometimes there's a lot of stories, but since people remember the stories, it all helps. They drive home the core principles people need to learn. In his "Ideas for Action" chapter, his list of action items are spot on and straightforward.

As an aside, I've been teaching emotional intelligence and teambuilding in corporate America as well as internationally for nearly 30 years, and I'm the author of the best-selling Creating Passion-Driven Teams. In my company's Workplace Excellence course, which we teach over the course of several months, each manager must choose from a list of books to read and give a presentation on that book at the end of the course about what they learned from that book. Coyle's Culture Code book is definitely going on the list of books my clients can choose to read.

This is a brilliant book for any manager trying to fathom out what makes their team or organisational culture tick?

Daniel provides sound analysis, examples, ideas and tips in an easily understood manner. You should be able to draw from his writing and perspectives a very helpful checklist to ensure you manage your culture well.

I highly recommend this book to all those leading any cultural changes. Lead the change; do not let it drive you!

Great book that covered the items required for highly successful teams. The two key chapters as far as I was concerned dealt with trust and communication. I liked the real life examples and have participated in 1 of the highly successful teams discussed in the book.

Highly enjoyed this book, offered an insightful approach to how best to build a winning culture. I took away a lot of practical approaches which I am implementing within my own team. very glad I read this book!! highly recommend - it is packed with interesting and useful insights

Great book to give your mindset concerning business/groups/people and their influences a complete makeover! Highly recommend! Things I took for granted about how people are influenced was challenged and replaced with data and examples. A good read as well....not dry at all.