Good products are built by teams not individuals

Though it is hard to form a good team, good things are almost always built by teams.

You cannot build it alone.

We have a fixed way of looking at the world. We see one problem from 1 point of view. 10 people can see 10 problems with a different point of view.

And we cannot expect to be right all the time. If we want smart people to be around us, we need to be run by ideas, not hierarchy. ¹ And expect the best idea to win.

Plus, it is easier to get work done in cross-functional teams.

Something you may not like is liked by someone else. Your weakness can be covered up by someone’s strength.

I can code the big picture but I miss out on the details. Usually, another team member catches them and corrects them.
I was bad at explaining myself in meetings early in my career. A senior used to back me up.
Similarly, I cover up for specific tasks for other members.

The advice I would give my past self when I joined work:

Resist the urge to be a solitary wise man. Be a good neighbor instead. ²

^{I stumbled upon this thinking about a tweet proposing that every startup should have at least 1 female co-founder.}

^{And thinking about the teams I work and have worked with. 🙂}

^{Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash}

Steve Jobs on Managing People ↩
Ryan Holiday ↩

Footnotes