Part IV: 9. The Science of High-Performing Teams

• If your organization needs to innovate, you need to have all styles represented, while homogeneous teams will do fine if innovation isn’t necessary. You should start by having everyone play personality poker so they can learn their strong suits and the styles they need to complement their own. There is an exercise here you should consider.
• Be sure to look at each team within your organization to be sure that individual teams are not silos containing people with the same style. It’s important that people appreciate styles they lack. This will help people appreciate those who might otherwise be annoying and turn tension into teamwork. When you analyze the style composition of each team, you can look to add missing styles where needed.

10. The Innovative Styles and the Innovation Process

• This longest chapter goes into detail for each step of the innovation process. At each step Stephen notes which personality types should be the main characters. He also notes that all personality types should be involved in each phase to the extent possible.
• It starts with turning your culture into one that supports and desires innovation. Phase one defines the challenges you face. Phase two is where you generate solutions. Then you plan and execute in phase three and engage the heart and minds as you promote your innovation in phase four. It starts with an identified need to change, the opportunity to do so, and the will of the top leaders. Unlike traditional brain storming, Stephen recommends that you let everyone develop ideas on their own before you bring everyone’s together for analysis. Be ready to iterate along the way and don’t just use creativity to generate potential solutions.

11. Culture, Recruiting, Retention, and Leadership

• Many people hire people like themselves rather than a mix of personality styles. Consider asking the leadership team which attributes they value the most. If your leadership team are all red cards, the company may wind up in the red. The leadership team needs balance. If you are too one sided, consider partnering with a company that features complimentary styles. Hire red and black cards in pairs if you can.
• Try to treat people the way they want to be treated rather treating everyone alike. Praise people according to what is important to them. Regardless of color, the best predictor of success is previous managerial experience. You can either establish an innovative team within your organization or let everyone know that innovation is everyone’s job. Focus on improving yourself rather than trying to change others.

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