Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Subscribe Sign In
Diversity Latest Magazine Popular Topics Podcasts Video Store The Big Idea Visual Library Case
Selections
Innovation
At the time, as we observed these teams, it was hard to believe that this could be a winning strategy.
Minimal coordination is extremely messy, and it doesn’t come without a cost. These teams experienced
many difficult moments, such as redundant or misdirected work efforts, that cost them valuable time
and resources. But they also gained incredible flexibility, repeatedly adapting and pivoting their
product direction in response to each other’s experiments.
For example, in one of these teams, one person assumed a component required three control buttons,
while two of their teammates, who were working on related components, assumed there would only be
two buttons. It took them a few hours to discover the miscommunication — but when they did, they
quickly adapted, deciding to leverage the opportunity to test both options.
The team had fully embraced uncertainty. When we asked one of the team members which iteration of
the component she thought would work, she shrugged her shoulders, surprised by the question, and
responded, “I have no idea. We’re going to try both.” Minimal and adaptive coordination enabled the
team to iterate collaboratively, ultimately leading to better, faster results — despite (or often, because
of) the hiccups along the way.
Though it may be counterintuitive, our research shows that ad-hoc teams tasked with innovating under
extreme time pressure will be more effective if they minimize upfront coordination and avoid
attempting to compress established work processes to fit an accelerated time frame. It’s completely
natural to seek order and stick to the familiar when things get chaotic. But sometimes, the only way to
be successful is to embrace the chaos.
Hila Lifshitz-Assaf is an Associate Professor of Technology, Operations and Statistics at NYU Stern.
See Hila’s faculty bio here.
Sarah Lebovitz is an Assistant Professor of Information Technology at the UVA McIntire School of
Commerce. See Sarah’s faculty bio here.
Start my subscription!
Explore HBR
The Latest
Most Popular
All Topics
Magazine Archive
The Big Idea
Reading Lists
Case Selections
Video
Podcasts
Webinars
Visual Library
My Library
Newsletters
HBR Press
HBR Ascend
HBR Store
Article Reprints
Books
Cases
Collections
Magazine Issues
HBR Guide Series
HBR 20-Minute Managers
HBR Emotional Intelligence Series
HBR Must Reads
Tools
About HBR
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
Information for Booksellers/Retailers
Masthead
Global Editions
Media Inquiries
Guidelines for Authors
HBR Analytic Services
Copyright Permissions
Manage My Account
My Library
Topic Feeds
Orders
Account Settings
Email Preferences
Account FAQ
Help Center
Contact Customer Service
Follow HBR
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Instagram
Your Newsreader
About Us
Careers
Privacy Policy
Copyright Information
Trademark Policy