Ruining it for the rest of us

A December episode of This American Life starts with an interview with Will Felps.

He placed college students on teams with an actor alternately playing a “jerk, slacker, and depressive”.

The “bad apple” not only wrecked the team’s performance, the other members began to think and act like him.

Here’s a Google book preview of Will Felps’ paper, How, When and Why Bad Apples Spoil the Barrel: Negative Group Members and Dysfunctional Groups

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About Ken Judy

I am an executive leader, software developer, father and husband trying to do more good than harm. I am an agile practitioner. I say this fully aware I say nothing. Sold as a tool to solve problems, agile is more a set of principles that encourage us to confront problems. Broad adoption of the jargon has not resulted in wide embrace of these principles. I strive to create material and human good by respecting co-workers, telling truth to employers, improving my skills, and caring for the people affected by the software I help build.