The Power of Thinking Together

Posted by Stacey Pilcher

A professor at Northwestern University challenged an engineering class to tell him how a cat is like a refrigerator. Panic ensued as the engineers froze. Then the professor had the students get into groups of three. Remarkably, the minds began to thaw. The results: “They purr.” “They smell.” “They are hard to get rid of.”

If you’ve ever thought you could get the job done better or faster on your own, think again. According to research conducted by two Princeton economists, two heads are better than one. Experiments were conducted between groups and individuals solving the same problems. They found groups outperformed the individuals and were not any slower in solving the problems.

John Morgan, assistant professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton said. “Our results suggest that even in complex environments, groups are not paralyzed by indecision. Moreover, groups use the data they have on hand to make timely — and better — decisions.”

In mythology, Janus symbolized change and transition – by being able to see into the past and ahead to the future. In business, putting more heads together will not foretell the future, but two heads are still better than one.

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