The Wisdom of Teams

7

Team Leaders

COLONEL RANDY GEYER began the first day of his new job by signing in, “I am not John Carr.”

Geyer had just assumed command from Carr of a U. S. Army planning unit, called a logistical cell (or log cell for short), that was responsible for devising how best to move, receive, and sustain the soldiers, equipment, and supplies involved in the Gulf War. Five months earlier, Geyer, who describes himself as “just a reservist from Indianapolis,” had been marketing furniture. He knew a lot about logistics, but not nearly as much as Carr, a career logistician who had performed brilliantly at the planning task during the war. But the hostilities were now over, and Geyer had to lead the log cell as they tackled the less life-threatening but ...