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I just did a presentation on "Groupthink" in a college course...

While the author's ideas point in the right direction, a few important points are left out:

1) The group feels infallible. They cannot be wrong. Their way is the only way.

2) Mindgaurding is imposed: Nothing that has the potential to dispel the infallibility is allowed or considered.

The most recent classic examples of Groupthink would be the Sabrejet/Valuejet decisions that led to the tragedy of the Everglades crash and the Morton Thyocal/NASA decisions that led to the Challenger disaster.

I guess Groupthink could be applied to the political arena as well.

I am in charge of several teams at work right now. Although I stress the importance of teamwork, I also remind them that they are being evaluated as individuals. I hold individuals responsible for the work the team does. I won't let a few people carry the whole load of others.

Sigma Six seems to be the "flavor of the month". Sometimes American business spends so much time improving work processes, that they forget to work...