“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”
I've often noticed that this is a favourite phrase of those whose preferred motion is narrating other people's work rather than doing it themselves. Teams do go further together. But only when everyone is rowing.
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together”
This apparently is an old African proverb coopted by the modern managerial class.
For those thinking about this issue, there are tech-specific related arguments similar to and contrary to the above. I heard the phrase from a Microsoft leader in early 2010s:
* "Heroism doesn't scale" (similar)
While I'm not sure it is completely true, there are respects in which it is deeply true (e.g. ops). It's a double-edged sword I think though; if you take the "Heroism doesn't scale" too seriously, you can suffocate out other key success drivers -- vision, innovation, motivation, design clarity/consistency, etc.
There's also (Fred) Brooks's Law (from Mythical Man Month):
* "Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later." (contrary)
I.e. there are limits to how many people "going far, going together" works for fundamental communication/coordination reasons.
P.S. There are also similar debates about optimal authority/responsibility/coordination across various military cultures, e.g. search for "military command".
In the original article the author says "ultimately leads us to ship less." as one of the drawbacks to collaboration. Says a lot really, if quantity of features shipped is a priority. Great way to build a feature factory, everyone shipping without feedback and having others question what you are doing.
I've often noticed that this is a favourite phrase of those whose preferred motion is narrating other people's work rather than doing it themselves. Teams do go further together. But only when everyone is rowing.