09 August 2008

Collective Stupidity

Thought this was quite funny article on the problems of decision-making in large groups.

Collective Stupidity
The natural tendency may be just to make decisions that are acceptable and least-common-denominator; decisions that no one disagrees with -- because it's easier and less contentious. But this doesn't seem to be the path to success.
The company that avoids collective stupidity is a statistical anomaly. Something about the way we do and think about decisions -- something so fundamental that we do it below the threshold of consciousness -- builds in this inevitable tendency towards the non-innovative, non-creative, non-fun organization.