
Strangers at a cocktail party - mattjaynes
http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/1808-strangers-at-a-cocktail-party
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Edinburger
If you need to hire fast, there are ways to get the group to be effective
quickly. If you normally work on long projects, it could take a long time
before everyone gets a chance to interact, debate, reach conclusions and pull
together to deliver. So, why not get everyone together and run a mini-project
over a few days - a sharp, intense, end-to-end experience which really forces
people together to debate, conclude and deliver. That can really accelerate
the group's transition from forming/storming into norming/performing.

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es
I absolutely agree. Test mini-project is probably the best way to see person
in action. No tests, recommendations or anything else can assure that person
will actually _fit_ your team.

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davidw
The opposite of this, of course, is groupthink...

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Periodic
It's also part of this. Groupthink is a danger regardless. Either you're all
trying to appease each other so no one tries to have different ideas or stand
out, or you're all friends so no one with different ideas lasts.

