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That may be an issue. Of course, it depends on what you mean by "best". If "best" means "like me", you're at risk of creating a monoculture. Personally, I thi

That may be an issue. Of course, it depends on what you mean by "best". If "best" means "like me", you're at risk of creating a monoculture. Personally, I think that we should stop looking for "the best" at all times and enormously rewarding them, because this is creating a lot of disparity, and maybe "the best" sometimes carry with them some large drawback (possibly "the best" engineer spends 10 hour working, and 6 more hours a day studying in order to improve; but, then, his social life and his human skills may be... lacking). If we pick all the best in this sense, we may end up with a lot of similar, great people with a lot of drawbacks. What if we ask "is this candidate good" or "is this candidate really good"? We should try to identify a bar, then pick people (maybe randomly, maybe with a diversity target) that go beyond that bar without looking at finding "the best".

vostok 9y ago
Or you could hire the best for a given role in a given context. Sometimes you need the whiz kid who can rewrite Torch from scratch in a weekend. It's OK if they eat the gunk between their toes. Sometimes you need the gregarious former athlete. It's OK if they got an A- in real analysis.
Consultant32452 9y ago
Do you have any data that suggests that monoculture is bad? My anecdotal evidence suggests that monocultures are the most efficient and effective teams. An important note here is that culture != skin color. Being from the same culture expedites a lot of communication and results in easier/greater team cohesiveness. A study recently came out about diversity in communities (not workplaces). Diversity and civic engagement are inversely related. The more diverse a neighborhood fewer people vote, fewer people volunteer, they give less to charity, etc. I can't imagine there aren't similar impacts in the workplace. http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/05/the_downside_of_diversity/ http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/...
- alanfranzoni 9y ago
  No, I don't have any data. The problem with monoculture, by the way, is that you might end up discarding somebody for "wrong culture fit" rather than actual skills. And that's something I'd like to avoid.
  - Consultant32452 9y ago
    That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills, which doesn't apply to the vast majority of businesses. All other things being equal, a "good culture fit" should make a better member of the team. If monoculture improves team effectiveness, then a better culture fit is likely even worth paying a price premium.
    - CydeWeys 9y ago
      > That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills, which doesn't apply to the vast majority of businesses. What makes you say this? The economy is at full employment right now. A lot of businesses are having a hard time finding employees with applicable skills. In the tech industry this is certainly true.
    - anonymouskimmer 9y ago
      "That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills" No, it's a problem to the discarded person, too, and potentially any future colleagues they might have worked with (or even hired/fired). Hiring and firing are not zero-sum games, they impact more than the just immediate individuals concerned. "If monoculture improves team effectiveness" This is a big "IF" in my eyes. Everyone going to the same bar to have a good time may be great fun, but isn't it nice to have some people who prefer other work hours who can start or finish something up for a team member in odd hours? Conversely isn't it nice for the odd-hour or solitary team member to have a more group-oriented colleague who can bring things to/from the solitary person to the group session? Etc... to other specifics.
- cannonedhamster 9y ago
  Yup and newer results debate Putnam's assertion. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01419870.2013.831932 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01419870.2013.831... Basically the only real assertion that could be made is that Americans are more scared of diversity than other countries. As to monocultures being bad, if we are looking at the rest of nature, then it's bad in the sense that it leaves massive vulnerabilities to being wiped out in one go. For example the potato blight, black death, bananas and so on, which arguably isn't the same thing as culture is far more adaptable. No one says monocultures are bad, they say they are risky. The reason everyone loves McDonalds french fries is because they are the same anywhere you get them, but if that particular potato has a bad year everyone will notice.

vostok 9y ago

Or you could hire the best for a given role in a given context. Sometimes you need the whiz kid who can rewrite Torch from scratch in a weekend. It's OK if they eat the gunk between their toes. Sometimes you need the gregarious former athlete. It's OK if they got an A- in real analysis.

Consultant32452 9y ago

Do you have any data that suggests that monoculture is bad? My anecdotal evidence suggests that monocultures are the most efficient and effective teams. An important note here is that culture != skin color. Being from the same culture expedites a lot of communication and results in easier/greater team cohesiveness. A study recently came out about diversity in communities (not workplaces). Diversity and civic engagement are inversely related. The more diverse a neighborhood fewer people vote, fewer people volunteer, they give less to charity, etc. I can't imagine there aren't similar impacts in the workplace. http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/05/the_downside_of_diversity/ http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/08/...

alanfranzoni 9y ago
No, I don't have any data. The problem with monoculture, by the way, is that you might end up discarding somebody for "wrong culture fit" rather than actual skills. And that's something I'd like to avoid.
- Consultant32452 9y ago
  That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills, which doesn't apply to the vast majority of businesses. All other things being equal, a "good culture fit" should make a better member of the team. If monoculture improves team effectiveness, then a better culture fit is likely even worth paying a price premium.
  - CydeWeys 9y ago
    > That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills, which doesn't apply to the vast majority of businesses. What makes you say this? The economy is at full employment right now. A lot of businesses are having a hard time finding employees with applicable skills. In the tech industry this is certainly true.
  - anonymouskimmer 9y ago
    "That's only a problem if there's a shortage of people with applicable skills" No, it's a problem to the discarded person, too, and potentially any future colleagues they might have worked with (or even hired/fired). Hiring and firing are not zero-sum games, they impact more than the just immediate individuals concerned. "If monoculture improves team effectiveness" This is a big "IF" in my eyes. Everyone going to the same bar to have a good time may be great fun, but isn't it nice to have some people who prefer other work hours who can start or finish something up for a team member in odd hours? Conversely isn't it nice for the odd-hour or solitary team member to have a more group-oriented colleague who can bring things to/from the solitary person to the group session? Etc... to other specifics.
cannonedhamster 9y ago
Yup and newer results debate Putnam's assertion. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01419870.2013.831932 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/01419870.2013.831... Basically the only real assertion that could be made is that Americans are more scared of diversity than other countries. As to monocultures being bad, if we are looking at the rest of nature, then it's bad in the sense that it leaves massive vulnerabilities to being wiped out in one go. For example the potato blight, black death, bananas and so on, which arguably isn't the same thing as culture is far more adaptable. No one says monocultures are bad, they say they are risky. The reason everyone loves McDonalds french fries is because they are the same anywhere you get them, but if that particular potato has a bad year everyone will notice.