1 + 0 = 1 but  1 + 1 > 2

That’s the “greater than” symbol: > It means better or more or more better. 2 is better than 1. But 1 + 1 is more than 2. One person working individually plus one person individually equals two people working individually. But two people working together is more than two people working apart.

Wait, what?

I know, I know, since kindergarten, you learned that 1 + 1 = 2, but since kindergarten, things have improved even more.

More people bring different viewpoints and ideas, whereas an individual often only looks at a problem or issue from one perspective. Krishna Chandran via Quora

You know what you’re going to get by going it alone: your perspective (and only your perspective). You might be thinking, “Well, all I need is my perspective as it’s the right one.” See, you already need help because you think you’re right.

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The upside of working alone is that you’re always right, there’s no one to question your judgment and you can get going on your solution immediately without feedback, pushback or annoying discussions.

The downside of working alone is that you think all of the above is true.

I post this today as a farewell to working alone. Yes, I’m a writer at my core, a mostly solitary task, but my projects are teeming with teams and I have improved my math skills to realize that 1 + 1 is no longer just 2 but much more. As of 2017, there will be no more one.

One Plus One Equals:

• The Unknown: a partner brings in ideas that you didn’t, don’t and won’t have. That’s the beauty of looking outside yourself. You know what you get with yourself (same old, same old). With a partner, it opens up possibilities you didn’t know existed.
• Cooking with Chemistry: your known and their unknown mixed with a pinch of your unknown and a dollop of their known brews into a delicious stew of something you never could have cooked up yourself.
• Accountability Partners: we all know you’ll get it done, but an accountability partner is more than a watchdog. A partner brings you up to a higher level just because of the idea that someone else is working with you … and might occasionally look over your shoulder.

One plus one is more than two. You plus someone else is greater than you. You plus someone else is greater than the someone else.

Build a team, find a partner, at least get a co-mentor. Work together, then work in parallel. Work on your own, then collaborate. Be your own mind, but be open to theirs. Get over yourself. Let it go. Be bigger than yourself. Be 2.

• Possible: 1 + 0 = 1
• Impossible: 1 + 0 = 2
• Repossible: 1 + 1 > 2

In case that wasn’t enough for you, here’s some more.

• 9 Facts Every Creative Needs to Know About Collaborative Teams The mere presence of other people engaged in the same task as us can boost our motivation.
• 12 Ways to Enhance Creativity and Collaboration in Teams There may be a science to orchestrating team collaboration, but there also is an art.
• Group flow: How teamwork can foster creativity As Mel Brooks and his partners in Sid Caesar’s laugh factory could confirm, sometimes super-creative groups like jazz ensembles, theater troupes, or comedy writing teams get into flow together.

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