Turning the Team On, by Corinne Maddox, CCM, CFM

An enthusiastic, unified project team is more productive and more fun to work on for everyone. Is it just chemistry or coincidence, or can you actually "turn the team on"? The natural response for team members (a required approach for businesses) is to want the most time and the most money for the least product quality that is possible the opposite of what you want. This conflict can lead to lack of cooperation, unproductively and a downright unpleasant project environment. After 25 years struggling with the project manager's challenge of pushing the team to improve project costs, schedules and quality, I have concluded that building team spirit is more effective in achieving a successful project than any amount of pushing, policing or sophisticated processes.