Close the Interaction Gap: Discover, Harness, and Accelerate the Collaborative Potential of Your Leaders, Teams, and Organization

Effectiveness in today's workplace relies on how well people can pool their talents, resources, and knowledge to achieve results. It is their daily interactions that determine the ultimate success of a strategy or how well it is executed. Data from the authors demonstrate there is a big gap between what people and groups actually achieve and what they could achieve if they could interact more effectively. This book discusses how to close these interaction gaps. Unfortunately, most interventions aimed at improving teamwork or collaboration have a superficial impact at best. In this book, Max Isaac and Anton McBurnie explain the four fatal flaws that doom such efforts, including the failure to account for the emotional component of interaction and the over-reliance on classroom training to solve real world problems. A longer-lasting solution is based on an integration of what the authors label as fun, mundane, and tricky approaches. The fun work allows people and groups to understand what strengths they have to work with and what weaknesses they have to manage (not overcome). The mundane work helps them eliminate the enormous waste associated with poor meetings and misunderstandings. The tricky approaches teach them how to benefit from differences rather than get sidetracked into unproductive conflict. Learning to close interaction gaps is like greasing the cogs in a gear: it makes the whole assembly run smoothly. You'll see improvements in everything from communication and decisions to alignment and group dynamics.

Max Isaac is the CEO of 3Circle Partners. He brings a depth of knowledge and experience from his career in general management and consulting worldwide. Max has assisted CEOs and senior leaders within client organizations with the design and implementation of interaction planning processes, team based organizational development programs, and Lean Six Sigma initiatives.

Prior to moving into the field of organizational development, Max was the CFO for the Retail Division within The Molson's Organization, where he took a lead role in growing the business to over $1 billion in revenues, doubling its size in four years through acquisitions and internal growth.

Max is the co-author of Close the Interaction Gap, The Third Circle - Interactions That Drive Results, Setting Teams Up for Success, and A Guide to Belbin Team Roles. He is also the contributing author of the Organizational Change sections of Mike George's books Lean Six Sigma and Lean Six Sigma for Service.

Anton McBurnie has developed a unique international perspective from working in, and consulting to, organizations in Europe, Asia and North America. He has a wealth of experience in the areas of effective leadership, team performance and achieving sustainable results with a specific focus on executive and senior teams.

Co-author of Close The Interaction Gap and The Third Circle, Anton is a strong communicator who can motivate and bring diverse teams together to achieve a common goal.

His career has taken him from marketing and brand management positions with Proctor & Gamble in the UK, and Consol Glass in South Africa to general management roles with L'Oreal in France, Hong Kong and Japan. Before moving into consulting, Anton's previous positions in North America included Managing Director of the Canadian affiliate of Estée Lauder Cosmetics; President of Sparks.com, an Internet start-up; and COO of Premier Salons International.