Mental Mishaps

Errors in perceiving, remembering, and thinking.

by Ira Hyman

March Madness, Cell Phones, and Team Building

By Ira Hyman on March 19, 2010 in Mental Mishaps

Georgia Tech basketball players gave up their cell phones during the ACC Tournament. They went without calls and texts during the weekend, and nearly won the tournament. What do cell phones have to do with winning basketball games? Read More

This story doesnt show the full picture

Submitted by Anonymous on March 19, 2010 - 1:13pm.

Although the team did give up their cell phones, they were not closed up in a bubble by themselves as most people would think.

During the entire tournament the players were still connected to the same amount of people as before since they spent the whole time tweeting, skyping, and facebooking people.

The fact that they didn't have ONE of their tools of communication is really irrelevant.

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not in a bubble

Submitted by Ira Hyman on March 20, 2010 - 9:53am.

I think giving up the cell phones is the crucial part. Doing so limits divided attention at times when the team could/should be interacting (on the bus, at meals, etc). No need to go into a bubble.

The goal is to give your attention to the people with whom you're interacting. You could do this without giving up the cell phone -- just don't respond to it when it buzzes during a conversation. Turn it off during meetings.