What sets apart the most productive, innovative teams?
Twenty years ago I became fascinated by the question: why are some work teams more productive and innovative than others? That began a multi-year research programme looking carefully at what these high-performing teams actually do. We surveyed teams over time — some based in the UK, others spanning other countries; we observed how team members behaved; and we took measurements of the flows of information within and between the teams.
We found that the most productive and innovative teams were 'hot spots' of energy. This was clear from my observations. I could sense their energy, while less productive teams in comparison felt dull and negative — people simply going about their tasks without real conviction.
It turns out that the magic of these hot spots
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
44 minutes ago
- Reuters
Britain to allocate $116 billion to R&D in spending plan
LONDON, June 8 (Reuters) - British finance minister Rachel Reeves will allocate 86 billion pounds ($116 billion) in this week's spending review to fund research and development, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said on Sunday. It said the package, funding everything from new drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries to artificial intelligence breakthroughs, would be worth over 22.5 billion pounds a year by 2029/30, driving new jobs and economic growth. Reeves will divide more than 2 trillion pounds ($2.7 trillion) of public money between her ministerial colleagues on Wednesday, making choices that will define what the year-old Labour government can achieve in the next four years. The DSIT said the announcement on R&D follows Reeves' commitment last week to 15.6 billion pounds of government investment in local transport in city regions in the Northern England, Midlands and the South West. ($1 = 0.7398 pounds)
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Rachel Reeves to announce £86bn for science and technology in spending review
Research into drug treatments and longer-lasting batteries will receive new funding as part of an £86 billion package for science and technology set to be announced in next week's spending review. Regions will be handed up to £500 million with local leaders given powers to decide how investment is targeted in their communities, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said. The overall package, which will be announced as Chancellor Rachel Reeves sets out departmental spending plans on June 11, is expected to be worth more than £22.5 billion-a-year by the end of the decade. DSIT said 'every corner of the country' would benefit as local leaders are given a say on how the money is spent on leveraging expertise specific to their communities. In Liverpool, which has a long history in biotech, funding will be used to speed up drug discovery and in South Wales, which has Britain's largest semiconductor cluster, on designing the microchips used to power mobile phones and electric cars. The Chancellor said: 'Britain is the home of science and technology. Through the Plan for Change, we are investing in Britain's renewal to create jobs, protect our security against foreign threats and make working families better off.' Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said: 'Incredible and ambitious research goes on in every corner of our country, from Liverpool to Inverness, Swansea to Belfast, which is why empowering regions to harness local expertise and skills for all of our benefit is at the heart of this new funding – helping to deliver the economic growth at the centre of our Plan for Change.' Local leaders including North East Mayor Kim McGuiness and West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker welcomed the package, but research backers warned more is needed to secure Britain's reputation for Rottingen, chief executive of Wellcome, Britain's biggest non-governmental research funder, said: 'The Government rightly acknowledges that investing in science and technology is a key way to boost the economy. 'But while it's positive under the financial circumstances, a flat real-terms science budget, along with continuing barriers such as high visa costs for talented scientists and the university funding crisis, won't be enough for the UK to make the advances it needs to secure its reputation for science in an increasingly competitive world. 'The UK should be aiming to lead the G7 in research intensity, to bring about economic growth and the advances in health, science and technology that benefit us all. We look forward to seeing the full details at the spending review.' Meanwhile, the Institute of Physics called for a longer-term strategy for science, including a plan for teachers and other members of the skilled workforce needed to deliver advances. Tony McBride, director of policy and public affairs at the institute, said: 'It's good to see the Government recognise the power of science and innovation to transform lives and grow prosperity in every part of the UK. 'But to fully harness the transformational potential of research and innovation – wherever it takes place – we need a decade-long strategic plan for science. This must include a plan for the skilled workforce we need to deliver this vision, starting with teachers and addressing every educational stage, to underpin the industrial strategy. 'We hope that the Chancellor's statement on Wednesday will set out such a vision.' Universities UK said the Government had made a 'smart investment' and academia would put its 'shoulder to the wheel' behind the plans. Vivienne Stern, chief executive of the group representing 142 higher education providers in Britain, said: 'The UK has a real opportunity to sow the seeds of long-term growth, benefiting all parts of the UK – with universities spread right across the country working with industry and public sector bodies to turn discoveries into economic success. 'They stand ready to double down with government, building stronger links with sectors of the economy where we have real room to grow. 'This creates good jobs and attracts investment everywhere from Swansea to Aberdeen, from Barrow to Plymouth.'
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Doctors use poo pills to flush out dangerous superbugs
UK doctors are attempting to clear dangerous superbug infections using "poo pills" containing freeze-dried stool samples come from healthy donors and are packed with good data suggests superbugs can be flushed out of the dark murky depths of the bowel and replaced with a mix of healthy gut is a new approach to tackling infections that resist antibiotics, which are thought to kill a million people each year. The focus is on the bowels which are "the biggest reservoir of antibiotic resistance in humans" says Dr Blair Merrick, who has been testing the pills at Guys and St Thomas' superbugs can escape their intestinal home and cause trouble elsewhere in the body – such as urinary tract or bloodstream infections."So there's a lot of interest in 'can you get rid of them from the gut?'," says Dr idea of poo-pills isn't as far-fetched as it might seem. Faecal transplants – also known as a trans-poo-tion - are already approved for treating severe diarrhoea caused by Clostridium difficile scientists noticed hints that faecal transplants for C. difficile also seemed to get rid of superbugs. New research has focused on patients who had an infection caused by drug-resistant bacteria in the past six were given pills made from faeces which people had donated to a stool stool sample is tested to ensure it does not contain any harmful bugs, undigested food is removed and then it is freeze dried into a is stored inside a pill that can pass through the stomach unscathed and reach the intestines where it dissolves to release its poopy powdery payload. The trial has taken place on 41 patients at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals in London to lay the groundwork for a large-scale study. It showed patients were up for taking a poo pill and the donated bacteria were still being detected in the bowels at least a month Merrick says there are "really promising signals" that poo pills could help tackle the rising scourge of superbugs and that donor bacteria could be going to microbial war with the superbugs as they compete over food and space on the lining of the gut and either rid the body of them completely or "reduce them down to a level that doesn't cause problems".The study also suggests the array of gut bacteria becomes more varied after the therapy. This is a sign of good health and "may well be promoting colonisation resistance" so it is harder for new infectious bugs to get in."It's very exciting. There's a real shift from 20 years ago where all bacteria and viruses were assumed to do you harm; to now where we realise they are completely necessary to our overall health," says Dr this week scientists showed the good bacteria our bodies meet – in the hours after we are born – seem to halve the risk of young children being admitted to hospital with lung infections. Our body's own human cells are outnumbered by the bacteria, fungi and others that live inside us - known as the has led to research implicating the microbiome in everything from Crohn's disease to cancer to mental health. If poo pills are proven to work against superbugs in larger studies then the researchers think they could be used for both treatment and prevention in people at risk. Medical procedures that suppress the immune system - including cancer therapies and organ transplants - can make the body more vulnerable."A lot of these individuals come to a lot of harm from drug resistant organisms," Dr UK's drugs regulator – the Medicines and Healthcare Products Agency – said there were more than 450 microbiome medicines currently in development."Some of them will success, so I do think we will seem them coming through quite soon," said Dr Chrysi Sergaki, the head of microbiome research at the MHRA."We could potentially, in the future, replace antibiotics with microbiome [therapies] - that's the big picture, so there's a lot of potential."
