Book Review: The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups by Daniel Coyle

“Why do certain groups add up to be greater than the sum of their parts, while others add up to be less?”

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This book is phenomenal! Who knew that reading a book about groups of people would be so interesting?? From chapter one I was immediately hooked. I learned so much and found myself engrossed in the stories about how the Navy Seals became such an incredible group, how PIXAR has churned out so many of my favorite movies and about how for one Christmas during wartime in 1914, both sides called a truce and stopped fighting. This is just the tip of the iceberg too. There are a ton of stories about business leaders, professional athletic coaches and more. Plus there aren’t only good examples of team work and leadership, there are examples of terrible groups with devastating outcomes. This book is full of facts yet is never boring even in the slightest. After reading it, I couldn’t wait to Google people like Gregg Popovich Coach of the San Antonio Spurs, groups like Seal Team Six and companies like Zappos that were discussed within the pages because I was so intrigued! Not to mention the cool psychological and sociological experiments that took place like the “Australian Hospital Study” and the “Would You Give A Stranger Your Phone Study”. I learned how to be more effective while working with a team and how to be a leader who leads with compassion and vulnerability in order to be successful in my office place as well as in life. Great book! I highly recommend it to anyone really. Even if you don’t work in an environment where team work occurs, this book is applicable to every day life and real life situations. 5 Stars!

Thank you to Random House and Daniel Coyle for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You made my job very easy and enjoyable with this one!

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he New York Times bestselling author of The Talent Code unlocks the secrets of highly successful groups and provides tomorrow’s leaders with the tools to build a cohesive, motivated culture.

Where does great culture come from? How do you build and sustain it in your group, or strengthen a culture that needs fixing?

In The Culture Code, Daniel Coyle goes inside some of the world’s most successful organizations—including the U.S. Navy’s SEAL Team Six, IDEO, and the San Antonio Spurs—and reveals what makes them tick. He demystifies the culture-building process by identifying three key skills that generate cohesion and cooperation, and explains how diverse groups learn to function with a single mind. Drawing on examples that range from Internet retailer Zappos to the comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade to a daring gang of jewel thieves, Coyle offers specific strategies that trigger learning, spark collaboration, build trust, and drive positive change. Coyle unearths helpful stories of failure that illustrate what not to do, troubleshoots common pitfalls, and shares advice about reforming a toxic culture. Combining leading-edge science, on-the-ground insights from world-class leaders, and practical ideas for action, The Culture Code offers a roadmap for creating an environment where innovation flourishes, problems get solved, and expectations are exceeded.

Culture is not something you are—it’s something you do. The Culture Code puts the power in your hands. No matter the size of your group or your goal, this book can teach you the principles of cultural chemistry that transform individuals into teams that can accomplish amazing things together.

Advance praise for The Culture Code

“I’ve been waiting years for someone to write this book—I’ve built it up in my mind into something extraordinary. But it is even better than I imagined. Daniel Coyle has produced a truly brilliant, mesmerizing read that demystifies the magic of great groups. It blows all other books on culture right out of the water.”—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Option B, Originals, and Give and Take

“If you want to understand how successful groups work—the signals they transmit, the language they speak, the cues that foster creativity—you won’t find a more essential guide than The Culture Code.”—Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better