Quality of Your Colleagues
"The reason academics are so obsessed with who their colleagues are is not just prestige:it is productivity. The person that we hire and sits in the office next door influences our creativity and our thinking. This extends to private sector research"- Enrico Moretti
The other day I had a conversation with a guy from New Jersey. He has moved down to Texas for the opportunity. BUT during the conversation it became obvious that he misses his previous life.
According to him, he lived in a place where most of big cities on the east coast were within one-two hour striking distance. With this closeness he could take advantage of the different cultures and groups in all of these cities.
I immediately recalled this quote. He was talking about closeness to centers as the driver in his quality of life. The quote teaches us that closeness to productive and creative colleagues improves our own productivity and quality of work.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to peak into a team before joining it in the private sector. We might be able to look at best the leader of the team by looking at their LinkedIn profile. Access to other colleagues is close to impossible. Maybe that should be a standard question during interviews?
Today's question is:
"Are you satisfied with the quality of your colleagues?"
"The reason academics are so obsessed with who their colleagues are is not just prestige:it is productivity. The person that we hire and sits in the office next door influences our creativity and our thinking. This extends to private sector research"- Enrico Moretti
The other day I had a conversation with a guy from New Jersey. He has moved down to Texas for the opportunity. BUT during the conversation it became obvious that he misses his previous life.
According to him, he lived in a place where most of big cities on the east coast were within one-two hour striking distance. With this closeness he could take advantage of the different cultures and groups in all of these cities.
I immediately recalled this quote. He was talking about closeness to centers as the driver in his quality of life. The quote teaches us that closeness to productive and creative colleagues improves our own productivity and quality of work.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to peak into a team before joining it in the private sector. We might be able to look at best the leader of the team by looking at their LinkedIn profile. Access to other colleagues is close to impossible. Maybe that should be a standard question during interviews?
Today's question is:
"Are you satisfied with the quality of your colleagues?"
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