Norman Johnson's research has consistently shown that diversity boosts group performance in complex situations. In his simulation of a group's ability to solve a maze, Johnson asked individuals to navigate the maze without knowing their location in the maze. They could only see the next choice - turn or go straight?
When Johnson combined the results of the individual tests into a collective performance, using the predominant choice of the group to navigate each turn in the maze, the collective consistently outperformed each individual and solved the maze in fewer steps. With enough individuals, the collective is able to develop an optimal solution.
Johnson found that the collective knowledge of the group was able to identify shortcuts that were not available to the individual. He also found that the contribution of each person was crucial to the solution, regardless of how successful the individual performance was. Johnson's research establishes that, when a problem is sufficiently complex, one can predict the diverse knowledge of the group will outperform a single "expert."
It is this finding that has caught the attention of the financial community.
