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Why small teams make big breaks

In 1969, Bell Labs left a giant software project, and a tiny group built Unix on a spare computer. Research on more than 65 million papers, patents and software products suggests small teams tend to disrupt, while large teams tend to develop.

Major #5: Computer ScienceThe story: Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie (1969). The book: The Innovators by Walter Isaacson.

About 8 minutes

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In this lesson

  • A grand system that would not ship
  • A small team, one spare machine
  • Small teams disrupt, large teams develop
  • The book: The Innovators
  • What the evidence says about the book
  • Where this comes from
  • Try it today
  • 4 questions to check yourself

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