cover image The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team

The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork Workbook: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team

John C. Maxwell. Thomas Nelson Publishers, $17.99 (240pp) ISBN 978-0-7852-6576-4

Maxwell continues his grand project of systematizing motivational lore in this fervent workbook. Rehashing the teamwork catechism he explored in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, he reminds us of the importance of vision and values, the dangers of egotism, bad apples and malingerers, and the necessity of dedication to collective will. Designed to be used, in part, by employees in a corporate team setting, the workbook features short inspirational or cautionary tales (a vignette about sherpa Tenzing Norgay teaches us that""the need for teamwork elevates"" at high altitudes, while disgraced Exxon Valdez captain Joe Hazelwood embodies the proverbial weakest link) followed by vague writing exercises (""How can you become more proactive in your personal growth?""), self-evaluative check-lists (""I am willing to give up my personal rights for the greater good of the team"") and""Take Action"" assignments (""Confess your error, ask for forgiveness, and make it right."") Maxwell may be the guru of teamwork, but this primer on group-think--with its tone pitched somewhere between a revival meeting and a human resources seminar--feels decidedly less than inspirational.