Im into teams.

I spent a year studying teams in the workplace. I always pick team sports over individual feats like running. I cheer for the Pistons and hiss for Kobe. I think the most rewarding experiences in life are team experiences. Even losing can be a good experience if you share it with the right people. Which is probably good because I think most of life, including work, is a team sport. We are all in this together.

On the other hand, I have been thinking recently about how miserable life can be when one is on the wrong team. Or more precisely, how one person can completely ruin a team experience.

Now this isn't anything new. I have read similar things in the past but when it happens to you, sometimes you just need to vent.

The truth is, two heads are not always better than one. If you get the wrong head in there, its like -1 or -10000000. It's like chew-your-own-leg-off misery.

And this is a bit surprising. One person who insists on doing it his way, who cannot compromise, who is completely obtuse to other people's input, and most importantly, has terrible ideas can just completely screw things up.

Even if its only 1 person in 5 or in 10. Common sense would imply that this single person would be overridden by the group, that they would be singled out and culled from the herd. Sadly nature is powerless and sometimes all it takes is one person to bring the whole group down like the Hindenburg. A burning fireball of fiery death!

For a while, you can amuse yourself by wondering: "How did this loser get here in the first place?"
Then you placate yourself by thinking: "This cannot go on forever. Surely someone will put a stop to it."
Then paranoia sets in: "Am I the only one who thinks this person is idiotic? Maybe Im just missing it."
Then comes anger: "This entire team is a bunch of morons."
And finally you just succumb to watching the clock in abject misery: "Is it over yet?"

The bad-team experience is another reminder of why some companies are so paranoid about hiring the right people. The best way to deal with these productivity-sucking fiascos is to keep them off the team in the first place. Makes sense to me.

Maybe there is wisdom in crowds but there isn't always wisdom in groups.