The moral, explained
Fifty thousand years ago, the Chief invented the group project: three cavemen, one fire, before moonrise. Three people should mean three times faster. Wrong: one worker, two disappearing acts, and every hour they come back to ask how "our" fire is going. Hours later Oog makes the first fire in human history, alone. Then the Chief arrives, and the reward goes to whoever is holding the torch.
Group project problems are older than writing. One person carries the work, others drift off, and when the result is presented, credit flows to whoever is standing closest to it. Researchers call the drifting "social loafing": in a group, people often put in less effort than they would alone, because their own share is harder to see.
The moral has two halves, and both are true. Doing the work is what actually lights the fire. But if nobody sees you do it, someone else will be holding the torch when the Chief walks in. Making your work visible isn't bragging; it's part of the job.
Try this today
On your next group task, write down who's doing what at the start, in a shared place everyone can see. Then post short updates as you go. It keeps the drifters honest and makes sure the torch ends up in the right hand.
Talk about it
In your last group project, were you Oog, Grub or the one holding the torch?
