Why Smartest Teams Make Dumb Decisions

Описание: Why do the smartest teams make the dumbest decisions?

Through case studies from intelligence failures to corporate hiring disasters and Himalayan climbing expeditions, I break down why "hiring the best and brightest" often backfires and what actually builds collective intelligence.
You'll learn:

Why cultural homogeneity created blind spots at the CIA before 9/11
How confirmation bias and groupthink destroy team performance
The HiPPO effect and why seniority can collapse cognitive diversity
When diversity improves performance (and when it doesn’t)
How to map your problem space before hiring your next team member
Why Himalayan climbers from hierarchical cultures die more often in groups

This isn't about diversity quotas or social engineering. It's about understanding that complex problems require different cognitive perspectives to solve effectively. Intelligence work, marketing campaigns, and high-stakes expeditions all fail when teams lack coverage in the problem space.

0:00 - Intro to Diversity of Thought (CIA's Billion Dollar Blind Spot)
1:24 - The Problem Space Framework
2:11 - How Culture Shapes What We See (Nisbett and Masuda’s study)
3:23 - Homophily: Why Smart People Hire Clones
4:30 - Corporate Example of Homophily
6:01 - Five Years Later: The HiPPO Effect
7:10 - Why Climbers Die in Hierarchical Teams
8:33 - When Diversity Hurts Performance
8:51 - The Diversity Bonus (25% Productivity Gain)
9:16 - Is hiring the best and the brightest the best recruitment strategy?


Resources mentioned:

Rebel Ideas - Matthew Syed
University of Michigan cross-cultural perception study
Himalayan mountaineering hierarchy research
9/11 Commission findings on CIA intelligence failures

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