This is The Collective Edge, a newsletter for curious people to learn how the science of groups and organizations can help us live and work better together. Not to be confused with the eponymous book that I’ll reference incessantly. (Ghostly whisper: Go and buuuyyy the booook…Review it on Amazon or Goodreadsssss…Post about it on social mediaaaa….)
If this is your first issue or you were forwarded this post, here’s what this is all about. Help grow The Collective Edge community by liking, sharing, and commenting on this post. We’ve been more on than off Substack’s “Rising Science” list for a while now (yay!!), so help us keep the momentum going by acquiescing to our algorithmic overlords and smashing those buttons!
[Note: The following is adapted from something I wrote for GQ’s New Year’s Resolution Issue that ended up on the cutting room floor. I figured I’d share it with y’all here. Enjoy!]
When visiting bookstores, I noticed something about the nonfiction section: most books treat change like a solo project. Self-help books encourage us to fix our mindsets, upgrade our habits, or drink lots of water. Leadership books excoriate us to be authentic, get in touch with our values, or find our inner compassion.
While those are admirable goals, there’s an individualistic assumption underlying them: if you get better, everything else will follow.
The truth about change, though, is that most meaningful progress doesn’t happen alone. We work, learn, and live in groups. So you’re not a lone wolf. You’re a social creature who rises or falls, depending on the packs you build or join.
A great group unlocks performance that individuals can’t reach by themselves. In Atomic Habits, we learned about how MIT once had a single ten-person class that produced four NASA astronauts—not just because of selection, but because they were dedicated to making the group more than the sum of its parts. When a group is well-structured and filled with people who challenge and support one another, each member gets more from themselves than they ever could alone.
Pixar proves that great ideas get even better in the right group. Directors regularly present unfinished work to the Braintrust—a trusted group of peers who offer candid, constructive, creative feedback. The director keeps creative control, but the collective wisdom consistently produces films that are stronger than any one person could have made alone.
The Apollo Program proved that no historic achievement is ever truly a solo accomplishment. Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, but his achievement rested on the work of hundreds of thousands of engineers, scientists, technicians, and mission specialists. Individual brilliance mattered, but it was the coordinated effort of an extraordinary team that made history possible.
The PayPal Mafia shows how one exceptional group can shape decades of innovation. After PayPal was acquired, many of its former employees went on to found or help build companies like LinkedIn, YouTube, Yelp, Palantir, SpaceX, and Tesla. Their continued success reflected more than individual talent—it grew from a community that challenged one another, shared ideas, and opened doors long after they stopped working together.
So flip the script. Stop searching inward for individualistic fixes to every problem. Adopt a collective perspective. Improve the groups that shape your life: your family, your friends, your clubs, or your work teams. Join groups where you genuinely admire the other members—people who push you to find something new in yourself. And improve the groups you’re already in by asking real questions, being a team player, and shaping norms that give everyone a chance to contribute.
Maybe you should even build your own pack. As Margaret Mead put it, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
So what’s your next step?
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