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Jan 14, 2007
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that we are unique. The greatest discovery of the next generation, I pray, is that we are one." --Thomas Leonard
No Contest: Competition Versus Cooperation
In this seminal 1987 article, author and researcher Alfie Kohn analyzes competition vis-a-vis cooperation. Refuting what he calls the myth of competition promoting excellence, he puts forth the notion that optimal productivity not only doesn’t need competition, but that it seems to require its absence. Research Kohn cites shows that competition creates anxiety, inhibits the exchange of ideas and sharing of skills, and creates a distraction from shared goals. In the workplace, therefore, a company is best off when it structures cooperation, creating a supportive climate and carefully building teams of people that produce better work collectively than any team member could turn out individually.
BE THE CHANGE
In the spirit of cooperation, share something today -- a skill, a recipe, a friend -- which you might not have thought of doing earlier.
