LCF & HCM – The Dynamics of Collective Excellence - I

We all have in our lives that one person. The friend who brings gossip to a study session. The one who throws slurs after a bad over on the cricket pitch. The guy who gives in to the wafting fragrance of the butterscotch ice cream, when the whole group is on a diet.When this good-natured miscreant enters, the group can go two ways. Let us visualise this with the last example: the tryst with the butterscotch ice cream and the dedicatedly dieting troop of friends..THE LOWEST COMMON FACTOR (LCF) Stage 1: The friend silently accepts the butterscotch, and the group silently accepts the lapse.Stage 2: Slowly, eating an ice cream isn’t so bad anymore: ‘it’s just one time’.Stage 3: One time for one person becomes one time for everyone, because ‘when he can do it, why can’t I?’Stage 4: One time for everyone becomes many times for everyone, because ‘anyway we’ve dropped the diet.’ So the spiral continues, whittling away at the inherent character of the group until it is brought down to the basest values shared by everyone, the ones that existed even before the group. Now, this group has been reduced to its lowest common factor..The Highest Common Multiple (HCM)Stage 1: The friend’s allured hand snakes towards the butterscotch, when a voice rings out: ‘Hey! Aren’t we on a diet?’Stage 2: The group knows now that the diet is more important than the butterscotch, no matter how enticing the latter may be. Stage 3: The next time a butterscotch wafts under one’s nose, their hand reaches out for it readily—to push it away, not wolf it down.Stage 4: Strengthened by their own resolve, the group now takes up even more challenging vows, building their character, brick by brick. This latter group, by virtue of one firm rebuke, mutually prods and pushes one member after another to their greatest potential; the group achieves its highest common multiple. Broadly speaking, these two paths can be mapped onto a ladder of fall and, conversely, a ladder of rise..The Ladder of (Collective) Fall:Stage 1: SilenceStage 2: AcceptanceStage 3: EmulationStage 4: Deterioration.The Ladder Of (Collective) Rise:Stage 1: AccountabilityStage 2: AcceptanceStage 3: EmulationStage 4: Elevation But why is this even important? Our world today is defined by our groups—circles within circles, friends, colleagues, family, and acquaintances. But then, what differentiates the noble, excellent groups of world-shaping innovators from all the ordinary, mediocre gatherings we see so pitiably often?The answer lies in the group’s collective standard. Those who do not hold you to your best will pull you down to your worst. This dual path of the LCF and the HCM applies to everything, from math, science and economics to football, cricket and badminton. Greatness lies in mutual upliftment, not merely mutual enjoyment. You may wonder how to become that uplifting presence in your own circles. The answer to that will come soon. Until then, dear reader, I leave you with a question:Which path will you take? To be continued.

LCF & HCM – The Dynamics of Collective Excellence - I

Related Stories

Are We Thinking Less?

Levelling Up Your Professional Game

The Mince Method: A Novel Technique to Manage Your Time

Digital Exhaust: Personalisation vs. Privacy