Who’s The Smartest One of All?

Here’s another in our Deep Thoughts Series. (You can scroll throughout “Deep Thoughts” on the Deep Thoughts page, or in the widget in the sidebar.)

None of us is a smart as all of us. – Phil Condit

This is pretty obviously a riff on the concept of synergy, “the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.” But coming from a guy with Phil Condit’s background, it takes on some real meaning.

So who is this Phil Condit. He grew up watching planes landing and taking off from San Francisco Airport, and they stirred his imagination. His grandfather helped him get his pilot’s license at 18. He went received a BS in mechanical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and In 1965 Condit received an MS in aeronautical engineering from Princeton University and accepted a job at Boeing in Seattle. a flexible wing called the “sailwing,” which improved the durability and maneuverability of jet aircraft. He received a patent for the wing design.

In 1974 Condit won a fellowship to the Sloan School of Management at MIT, where he earned an MS in management in 1975. In 1989 Condit put his intelligence, creativity, and management skills to work as executive vice president and general manager of the New Airplane Division, which was later renamed the 777 Division. In April 1996 Condit became chief executive officer (CEO), replacing Frank Shrontz. In 1997 Condit became chairman of the board as well as CEO.

In 1991, Boeing endured a 69-day strike by 32,000 members of the International Association of Machinists. After a while, Condit put on his wool sweater and walked into the picket lines and talked with picketers. He helped to find compromises that brought the strike to an end, and he won the enduring respect of the union members and of Boeing’s engineers as well. He would always be seen by labor as a friend.

Why is it important to view the quote in the context of Condit. Jumbo jets and rockets are not designed, engineered and built by individuals. Individuals certainly make contributions, but it is the combination of the all those contributions that creates things like the 747, or a lunar module, or a new automobile.

But when dealing with individuals, there is the dynamic of group cohesion.  If the individuals aren’t working toward the same goal, this idea won’t be realized. Unfortunately, we currently have an atmosphere of division in this country spreading to the world. Leaders in this country are using fear and bigotry to divide the country, and we are no longer pursuing big ideas. We’re becoming a nation of individual islands, and we will not survive that. If we really want to be great again, we’re going to have to come together, for divided we will surely fall.