From "That'll Never Work" to "We Should've Done This Sooner"
When Bold Ideas Pay Off
In our recent Meta-Cast podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sandy Mamoli and David Mole, authors of "Creating Great Teams," who are about to release their second edition after 10 years of additional experience with team self-selection. Their story offers a powerful lesson about taking that big, scary swing on an idea that seems almost too bold to try.
The Scary Idea That Paid Off
Have you ever watched a hackathon and wondered why you can't capture that same energy, motivation, and productivity in everyday work? That's exactly what happened to Sandy and David a decade ago.
After witnessing the incredible energy and results of a 24-hour hackathon at their e-commerce company, Sandy was inspired. The next morning, she raced to work and proposed what seemed like a radical idea: "What if we could let people choose their own teams?"
As David recalled during our conversation, his initial reaction followed a familiar pattern we all experience with bold ideas: "Great idea, awesome idea... how would that work? What about this person? No, no, no, terrible idea. Let's just go back to the chess piece moving around, please. Because that's easier and familiar."
Sound familiar? That voice of fear stops us from taking our biggest swings.
When the Big Swing Connects
What happened when they pushed past that fear? They created a structured approach to team self-selection that ultimately became so successful they wrote a book about it, and now, a decade later, they've seen it implemented in diverse organizations around the world.
What makes their story particularly inspiring is how they handled the uncertainty. They didn't demand perfect answers to every "what if" scenario before starting. Instead, they asked themselves, "What would be the worst-case scenario?" and discovered those scenarios weren't actually that scary when examined closely.
The results? As David put it, "The results blew us away. They were better than I think either of us [expected]."
The Power of Challenging Assumptions
One of the most valuable insights from Sandy and David's experience is how their thinking evolved. Their initial assumptions about team stability being paramount have shifted as they've gathered more evidence.
"Something where I say actually, we were wrong," Sandy explained, "was that teams have to be really stable... What has happened since is that we haven't had the luxury to have stable teams."
Their willingness to challenge even their foundational thinking has allowed their approach to grow and adapt. This growth mindset is critical when taking big swings - you must be willing to revise your thinking as you learn.
Your Turn: What Big Swing Are You Avoiding?
So what's your equivalent of "let's let people pick their own teams"? What's that idea you've been hesitating to propose because it feels too radical, too different from "how things are done"?
As our conversation with Sandy and David revealed, the most transformative ideas often:
Initially sounds impossible or crazy
Challenge deeply held assumptions about "how things must work"
Create immediate resistance (even in ourselves)
Require iteration and refinement
Evolve significantly with implementation experience
The next time you find yourself dismissing an idea as too radical, remember Sandy racing to work on her bike, excited about a completely different way to form teams. Remember David's initial resistance, followed by an openness to exploration. Ask yourself: What if this seemingly crazy idea actually worked? What's the worst that could happen if we tried?
Sometimes the biggest risk isn't in taking the swing - it's in never swinging at all.
Josh Anderson
Editor-In-Chief
The Leadership Lighthouse