Great Teams

What makes a team great? Not just good and not just functional—but great?

Over six years, long-time Sports Illustrated editor Don Yaeger was invited by some of the greatest companies in the world to speak about the habits of high-performing individuals. From Microsoft and Starbucks to the New England Patriots and San Antonio Spurs, what do some organizations do seemingly better than most of their opponents?

Don took the challenge. He began building into his travel schedule opportunities to interview our generation’s greatest team builders from the sports and business worlds. During this process, he conducted more than 100 interviews with some of the most successful teams and organizations in the country. From those interviews, Don identified 16 habits that drive these high-performing teams.

Building on the stories, examples, and first-hand accounts, each chapter in Great Teams comes with applicable examples on how to apply these characteristics in any organization. Great Teams includes:

• Life lessons from some of the most notable names in sports and business applied to team-making in any situation 


• Interviews from well-known players from Peyton and Eli Manning to Kevin Durant


• Skills to allow culture to shape who you recruit, manage dysfunction, friction, and strong personalities


• Advice on how to win in critical situations, embrace change, build a mentoring culture, and see value others miss

Great Teams is the ultimate intersection of the sports and business worlds and a powerful companion for thought leaders, teams, managers, and organizations that seek to perform similarly. The insight shared in this book is sure to enhance any team in its pursuit of excellence.