Dimon's Small Team Secret: Social Neglect Takes Hold in Large Groups

Research is drawing attention again to the idea that having more team members can lead to less effort from individuals. According to JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who leads over 300,000 employees worldwide, smaller teams are more effective in solving important problems.

Dimon prefers small teams for core tasks like AI and marketing because 'real competition takes place in much smaller units.' He compared these teams to elite special forces such as the Navy SEAL or Delta Force.

This idea aligns with old research in psychology, specifically an experiment conducted by Vivratane, Kip Williams, and Stephen Harkins in 1979. They found that individuals put less effort into tasks when they thought they were part of a group compared to working alone.

Researchers called this phenomenon 'social neglect,' where individuals rely on others to do the work, leading to inefficiency. This can also happen in office settings, where team size can lead to blurred responsibilities and a lack of individual accountability.