Why do some teams with 'less' often achieve more?

by Dalton Daughtrey

Why do some teams with 'less' often achieve more?

Designer and engineer Peter Skillman held a competition to find out.?

He assembled two groups of contestants to participate in a study: one consisted of kindergarteners and the other MBA students from prestigious universities.

He challenged each group to build the tallest possible structure in a constrained amount of time using the following items:

• 20 pieces of uncooked spaghetti
• 1 yard of tape
• 1 yard of string
• 1 marshmallow

The contest had one rule: The marshmallow had to end up on top.?

The business students quickly got started. They talked and thought strategically. They looked at the materials and shared ideas, asking questions and analyzing the situation. They came up with different options and fine-tuned the best ones. The whole process was professional, sensible, and smart. They decided on a particular plan and then split up tasks to begin building.

The kindergartners did things differently. They didn't plan or analyze. They didn't ask questions, suggest ideas, or refine their plans. In fact, they hardly spoke. They stood close together, and their interactions were not smooth or organized. They quickly grabbed materials and started building without a plan or strategy. When they did speak, it was in short bursts like, "Here! No, here!" Their approach was chaotic and iterative.

The kindergarteners won.

And while it may not seem to make sense on the surface, while the MBA students were going through a process of ‘status management’ where leadership was defined, plans were organized, an unspoken social hierarchical structure was created and assignments were dictated and compartmentalized, the kindergarteners were all iterating solely with the goal in mind, without concern for anything else.

Which goes to show that sometimes, iteration outweighs intention.

The real question is: How does this apply to business?

In sales: bigger pipeline = reduced pressure

In marketing: more exposure = less CAC

In business: higher risk = higher reward

In recruiting: more interviews = better selection

We can't have quality without first experiencing quantity

We have to work harder in order to earn the right to work smarter

Quantity leads to quality.

And that sometimes it’s not about how much we know, but how quickly we act with what we know.

Ignorance on fire is more effective than knowledge on ice.

“Don’t think, just do” -Maverick from ‘Top Gun’

Article by Dalton Daughtrey