The Bee versus the Hive

Who comes up with the best answers? Is it the individual or the group? Have one person guess the value of a particular item. It probably is going to depend on the skill of that one individual. Another way is to ask 1,000 people what they think the value is. The collective in this case can be more valuable because it takes all the peaks and valleys and regresses them to a collective average answer. The reason the collective can be valuable is precisely that its peaks of intelligence and stupidity are not the same as the one usually displayed by individuals.

This struggle between individual or collective answers to complex questions is one of the many challenges facing modern management. Collectives can be just as stupid as any individual (history books are full of examples) - and, in important cases stupider. Management is ultimately tasked with mapping out where the one is smarter than the many. The balancing of influence between people and collectives rests on the checks and balances of any managerial process. It requires systems and managers that can filter and monitor the decision making process. Are there sufficient regulating mechanisms for the collectives? What types of answers ought not be provided by individuals?

For example, the collective might be on the right track with respect to the value example, but having 1,000 individuals estimate the value takes time. Sometimes, with some questions, the collective can move too slowly. There just isn't enough time for the collective to come up with brilliant answers (Global warming is a great example of a really complex problem that needs a collective answer - - but, the problem has a large time constraint). The collective can also move too quickly. The stock market with its collective and speculative frenzies and overly active Wikipedia entries that jitter instead of settling down are great examples. Engineering faces all of these issues - where the brilliance of the individual is constantly balanced by collective attitudes and behavior. The "wisdom of crowds" effect should be thought of as a managerial tool - where the type of problem, the distribution of potential outcomes, the risk involved - are all elements and issues management needs to take into consideration.