Stories of Great Teams Part 2 - Muckers

7/29/2019 Stories of Great Teams Part 2 - Muckers

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http://magicofteams.wordpress.com

During a recent team intervention which we were facilitating, one of the participants was

sharing his views on teams and individual contributors , his point of view being that history

remembers only instances of individuals overcoming trying circumstances to achieve the

impossible - we rarely to get hear stories about teams doing the same. We discussed numerous

stories ranging from sport, history and science where individuals have battled seemingly

insurmountable obstacles to come out on top. That got me curious, were some of these success

stories possible only due to individual effort or did they have the backing of teams behind

them? And some of the stuff we found was mind boggling to say the least. This is the story of

one such team

Heard of Francis Jehl, Ludwig Boehm, John Kruesi, Francis Upton, Charles Batchelor, John

Lawson or Martin Force? No? But you would surely have heard of Thomas Edison? Well, this

was the team who made Edisons dream of electric bulb, a practical reality. Thomas Edison,

arguably the most brilliant inventor the world has ever seen, is renowned for his innumerable

scientific accomplishments - his inventions still form the basis of many modern day devices and

technologies. Some of his greatest contributions to the world of science can be read here.

What is the image that comes to mind when you hear the words brilliant inventor? A lonely

figure with glasses tinkering away in a dimly lit room? In Edisons case, you would be way off

the mark! His greatest successes came as a result of teams of researchers who worked

collaboratively on projects, in a state of the art laboratory in Menlo Park!

These groups/teams have been referred to as Muckers by some scholars the name being

derived from an initiative driven by Edison to produce a new type of brick which would not

absorb moisture! You can read more about the origin of Muckershere.
http://www.edisonmuckers.org/thomas-edison-inventions/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/thomas-edison-inventions/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/what-is-a-mucker/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/what-is-a-mucker/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/what-is-a-mucker/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/what-is-a-mucker/http://www.edisonmuckers.org/thomas-edison-inventions/


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Their successes are well documented, with inventions ranging from the electric bulb to motion

pictures. So what made this team tick?

1. Selection: Edison prided himself on selecting the right people in the team, in fact theselection procedures for working in Edisons team at Menlo Park are the stuff of legend.

You can read some of the questionsherewhich people applying for work at the Menlo

Park Laboratory had to go through! These included abstract problem solving to on the

spot mechanical conundrums! There is perhaps a lesson here for modern day

organizations as well - selecting the right team members is in itself a strong determinant

of the teams success. Getting the wrong people together in a project and then

exhorting them to display team work might be a waste of precious time and resources.

2. Collaboration Scientists across the world had been trying to crack the problem ofcreating an electric bulb from the early 19

thcentury, however most of them worked

alone in their laboratories across the world. Edisons team selection brought together a

collection of brilliant minds tackled different aspects of the problem collaboratively and

in the process, they learned from each other by cross-pollinating ideas. Take Edisons

dream of the electric bulb the prototype was designed by one team member, built by

another and tested by a different team of researchers! Needless to say, ten brilliant

minds working together are much more likely to solve a problem than ten working inisolation.

3. Camaraderie Edison was known for being a tough taskmaster, but interestingly thereare enough instances in team members recollections of their times together of his

efforts to strengthen the bond between people. Some of the documented instances

range from ordering dinner for everyone working late night together to playing music
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/117252http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/117252http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/117252http://magicofteams.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/muckers.jpghttp://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/117252


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after a tiring days work - these created a lot of magical moments that boosted

camaraderie. In the words of Francis Jehl, Our lunch always ended with a cigar, and I

may mention here that although Edison was never fastidious in eating, he always

relished a good cigar, and seemed to find in it consolation and solace. . . . It often

happened that while we were enjoying the cigars after our midnight repast, one of the

boys would start up a tune on the organ and we would sing together, or one of the

others would give a soloThe irrepressible spirit of humor in the old days, although

somewhat strenuous at times, caused many a moment of hilarity which, seemed to

refresh the boys, and enabled them to work with renewed vigor after its manifestation

4. Persistence: Lost somewhere in the myriad successful inventions that came out ofMenlo Park are the thousands of designs and prototypes that the world never saw

simply because they were failed attempts. The legend goes that Edisons labs conducted

more than 10,000 experiments before they got the design of the nickel battery perfect!

Truly Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration! When asked about

the high number of failed designs, Edison is reported to have retorted Many of life's

failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave

up.

Edisons invention factory in Menlo Park was built on the solid foundations of collabor ation

and team work. Popular authors Gostick and Elton(Authors of The Carrot Principle & The

Orange Revolution) describe this as espirit de corps , an indomitable bond shared by

Edisons Muckers - who worked and played together while sharing the same goals. Maybe

this is what Edison himself was referring to when he said I have friends in overalls whose

friendship I would not swap for the favor of the kings of the world.

Does your team have the espirit de corps to shrug off a failure and try again till the goals are

met? Are there similar teams out there which have inspired you? Do share your thoughts

Article written by:

Rakesh Balachandran

www.focusadventure.in
http://www.amazon.com/The-Carrot-Principle-Recognition-Performance/dp/0743290097http://www.amazon.com/The-Carrot-Principle-Recognition-Performance/dp/0743290097http://www.focusadventure.in/http://www.focusadventure.in/http://www.focusadventure.in/http://www.amazon.com/The-Carrot-Principle-Recognition-Performance/dp/0743290097

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Stories of Great Teams Part 2 - Muckers