“One team achieved an almost perfect score. When we looked at the composition of this team, we found it was the only one that did not consist entirely of engineering managers. In fact, it included the general manager, his administrative assistant, and one of the non-technical support staff. And when we looked at the strategy this team used to solve the problem it transpired that it was the administrative assistant who suggested the approach that allowed the team an almost perfect score.”
The business of software: The Difference Engine
Observations on cognitive diversity and team performance
Communications of the ACM
Vol. 55 No. 1, Pages 33-34
10.1145/2063176.2063191