Red Teaming is a revolutionary new way to make critical and contrarian thinking part of the planning process of any organization, allowing companies to stress-test their strategies, flush out hidden threats and missed opportunities and avoid being sandbagged by competitors.
Today, most — if not all — established corporations live with the gnawing fear that there is another Uber out there just waiting to disrupt their industry. Red Teaming is the cure for this anxiety. The term was coined by the U.S. Army, which has developed the most comprehensive and effective approach to Red Teaming in the world today in response to the debacles of its recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, the roots of Red Teaming run very deep: to the Roman Catholic Church’s “Office of the Devil’s Advocate,” to the Kriegsspiel of the Prussian General Staff and to the secretive AMAN organization, Israel’s Directorate of Military Intelligence. In this book, author Bryce Hoffman shows business how to use the same techniques to better plan for the uncertainties of today’s rapidly changing economy.
Red Teaming is both a set of analytical tools and a mindset. It is designed to overcome the mental blind spots and cognitive biases that all of us fall victim to when we try to address complex problems. The same heuristics that allow us to successfully navigate life and business also cause us to miss or ignore important information. It is a simple and provable fact that we do not know what we do not know. The good news is that, through Red Teaming, we can find out.
In this book, Hoffman shows how the most innovative and disruptive companies, such as Google and Toyota, already employ some of these techniques organically. He also shows how many high-profile business failures, including those that sparked the Great Recession, could easily have been averted by using these approaches. Most importantly, he teaches leaders how to make Red Teaming part of their own planning process, laying the foundation for a movement that will change the way America does business.
"Red teaming provides the specific tools and a reliable process to continuously improve your management system and business plan to adapt and thrive in our rapidly changing world."
—Alan Mulally, retired president and CEO of Ford Motor Company and Boeing Commercial Airplanes
"Red teaming is a vital way for leaders to get the honest answers and alternative perspectives they need to plan better and make their strategies succeed."
—Marshall Goldsmith, bestselling author of Triggers
"American Icon was one of the most significant business books ever written, and Red Teaming is further proof that Bryce Hoffman is one of the great business writers and thinkers of our time. This is a book that every business and team needs to read NOW!"
—Jon Gordon, bestselling author of The Energy Bus and You Win in the Locker Room First
"Red teaming has sparked so many creative ideas that are directly helping our Dale Carnegie business right now. I'm grateful to Bryce Hoffman for writing this book and sharing these key learnings!"
—Joe Hart, president and CEO of Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.
"Another home run for Bryce Hoffman. Red teaming methods correct overconfidence and impulsive decision-making—just what we need today. Hoffman describes the methods plus the stories that make them come to life."
—Gary Klein, PhD, senior scientist, MacroCognition, LLC, and author of Sources of Power
