'An adventure into the very human science of making breakthroughs together.' - Charles Duhigg, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of The Power of Habit The best groups are more than the sum of their parts - but why does teamwork so often fail to fulfill this promise? Award-winning entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow takes us on an extraordinary tour of the hidden science of team dynamics, revealing the counterintuitive reasons that some groups break out while far too many break down. Examining history-making groups like the Wu Tang Clan and the Russian national hockey side alongside teams whose failures have had lasting impact, Snow reveals the answers, and what the rest of us can learn from the rare teams that do the impossible together. In this stimulating, pacey adventure through history, neuroscience, psychology, sports and business, Snow explores the secrets of the best teams the world has to offer. You'll discover: - How ragtag teams - from soccer clubs to startups to gangs of pirates - beat the odds throughout history - Why DaimlerChrysler flopped while the Wu-Tang Clan succeeded, and the surprising factor behind most failed mergers, marriages, and partnerships - What the Wright Brothers' daily arguments can teach us about group problem solving - The true stories of pioneering women in law enforcement, unlikely civil rights collaborators, and underdog armies that did the incredible together - The team players behind great social movements in history, and the science of becoming open-minded. Provocative and entertaining, Dream Teams is a landmark work that will change the way we think about progress and collaboration.

"A terrific and timely book that makes a compelling case for fundamentally rethinking how your business communicates. Recommended!" --Jay Baer, founder of Convince & Convert and author of Hug Your Haters "Once upon a time, storytelling was confused with talking at people. Not anymore. Shane and Joe are your narrators in a journey that will transform how you talk to other human beings to be more believable, relevant, compelling and unforgettable." --Brian Solis, experience architect, digital anthropologist, best-selling author "Shane Snow and Joe Lazauskas spend the overwhelming majority of their time thinking, writing, and theorizing about brand storytelling - so you don't have to. They're smart and they know this topic inside out (and sideways). Read their book. While I can't guarantee you'll rise to Shane and Joe's ridiculously obsessive level, you will be infinitely better prepared to tell your own brand's story. Promise!" --Rebecca Lieb, Analyst, Author & Advisor "The Contently team understands the power of story, and how to craft and spread a great narrative, like no other. In an era where brand, design, and mission are a competitive advantage for every business, Contently underscores the importance of stories and how they transform companies and industries." --Scott Belsky, Entrepreneur, Investor, & Author (Founder of Behance, bestselling author of Making Ideas Happen) "I can't think of a better way to illustrate the power of story telling than by telling great stories. This book should be required reading not just by those with content in their titles, but by anyone in Marketing AND Sales. Then, when you're done, give it to your CEO to read... but make sure you get it back, because I guarantee you'll refer to it more than once." --Shawna Dennis, Senior Marketing Leader "Neuroscience, algorithms, illustrations, personal anecdotes and good, old-fashioned empathy: This entertaining and informative tome journeys to the core of how we communicate and pushes us, as marketers and humans, to do it better, "speeding the reader through and leaving us wanting more." --Ann Hynek, VP of global content marketing at Morgan Stanley Transform your business through the power of storytelling. Content strategists Joe Lazauskas and Shane Snow offer an insider's guide to transforming your business--and all the relationships that matter to it--through the art and science of telling great stories. Smart businesses today understand the need to use stories to better connect with the people they care about. But few know how to do it well. In The Storytelling Edge, the strategy minds behind Contently, the world renowned content marketing technology company, reveal their secrets that have helped award-winning brands to build relationships with millions of advocates and customers. Join as they dive into the neuroscience of storytelling, the elements of powerful stories, and methodologies to grow businesses through engaging and accountable content. With The Storytelling Edge you will discover how leaders and workers can craft the powerful stories that not only build brands and engage customers, but also build relationships and make people care--in work and in life.

Serial entrepreneur and journalist Shane Snow delves into the reasons why some people and organizations are able to achieve incredible things in implausibly short time frames, showing how each of us can use these "smartcuts" to rethink convention and accelerate success. In every era, innovators from art to science to business have used what psychologists call "lateral thinking" to find better routes to stunning accomplishments. Smartcuts shows how they bucked the norm-and how the rest of us can too. Snow shatters common wisdom about success, revealing how conventions like "paying dues" prevent progress, why kids shouldn't learn multiplication tables, and how, paradoxically, it's easier to build a huge business than a small one. Smartcuts tells the stories of people who dared to work differently and lays out practical takeaways for the rest of us. It's about applying entrepreneurial and technological concepts to success in life and work, and how, by emulation, we too can leapfrog competitors, grow businesses, and fix society's problems faster than we think.