Author Ron Friedman on “Superteams”

Welcome Ron Friedman:

We’re joined on the Starline by a social psychologist and author who spent the last decade doing something most researchers never bother to do…actually talking to people. His new book makes you rethink every meeting on your calendar. “Superteams” is out now. We welcome author Ron Friedman.

Ron, let’s go Beyond the Mic. You analyzed over 100,000 data points for this book. At what point in that research did you realize you were looking at something that needed a completely different explanation than what’s already out there?

You went inside the Succession writers’ room, ABBA’s recording studio and Michelin-starred kitchens. What did those rooms give you that the data alone couldn’t?

Your research says top performers care more about disappointing their peers than their boss. Did you feel that in yourself when you were in academia or did it take leaving to see it?

How did your goals evolve as you developed “Superteams”?

The Rockin’ 8:

“Superteams” is the book and Ron Friedman joins us for the Rockin’ 8. 8 random questions, just trust your first instinct. There is no Pressure.

1. First job you ever had growing up was… telemarketing (what were you selling? donating)

2. You live in Pittsford, New York. What does someone need to know about Pittsford that nobody ever tells them? (pickleball capital of NY) How competitive are you?

3. You’ve studied what makes people exceptional for 20 years. What are you still bad at? (pick one)

4. Succession or Bridgerton: which writers’ room would you actually want to work in? Succession

5. You started as a political science major. What was your original 1^st minor? History European

6. Is there something you read years ago, which isn’t your own research that you still think about today?

7. When you left the lab for the corporate world, was there a moment you thought you’d made a mistake?

8. Your dissertation was on non-conscious motivation. Did you ever do something in your own career and realize later it was the research pulling the strings?

Sneaking in One More:

You talk about the top 8% of teams. What does someone do the day after they realize their team is in the 9%. Close but not there?

One Big Question:

You’ve spent 20 years studying how people perform, in labs, in boardrooms, in writers’ rooms, in locker rooms. But you made the decision to walk away from a tenure path building something different. Nobody studies that pivot or wrote that paper. So what did you learn about yourself that the research couldn’t have told you?

The Wrap:

He originally had European History as a minor, thinks people should know about pickleball in Pittsford and wants you to read Superteams. Ron Friedman, thanks for taking the time to talk with us today.

And that my friends is a Beyond the Mic Short Cut.

Listen to other Beyond the Mic episodes with authors here.