Collaborative Intelligence by Gene Hackman

Using Teams to Solve Hard Problems

A research-based guide to making teams effective at solving complex, high-stakes problems by getting the conditions right rather than micromanaging behavior. It lays out the essential ingredients—clear and compelling direction, a real team with the right composition and size, enabling structures and norms, supportive organizational context, and skilled coaching—while diagnosing common pitfalls like ambiguous authority, misaligned incentives, and process overload. Through practical frameworks and case examples, it shows how to design, launch, and lead teams that learn, adapt, and reliably deliver strong results.