Group think – How to overcome it

The book by Adam Grant, “Originals: How non conformists move the world” was immensely insightful to me. The examples shared and specifically resisting the status quo or the default is the hallmark of the originals. For me parts of this book that resonated with me was the need to avoid “group think” and how it can affect teams. Polaroid and its founder, Edwin Land, was featured as one organization that went down that slippery slope, of not wanting to do things differently. Imagine this now, ask any baby boomer or Gen X and they will know what Polaroid does. Throw that question to a millenial or gen Z, high chance they will be scratching their heads. Group think results when:

• Commitment culture
• Past successes
• When organisations become homogeneous over time
• Similarity in the way they hire

This might ring a bell with some of you. Mavericks, dissenters and people who question why we need to do it the way its been done will go long way to prevent consensus seeking teams to get things done. Reaching consensus too early and fast will not get the best feedback you need in teams. Very much what you see is the summary what I most like about this book. Really worth the read.