Groupthink

Group meetings are a common occurence at LS, and with everyone's participation, unique ideas emerge and brand building begins.

Last week, the interns and I had our own "concepting" session for LS's annual intern T-shirt project. Within a matter of 10 minutes, we nailed down a concept, wrote a back-story, and drew up creative graphics. Our idea was strong and we were set--or at least we thought!

When Katie and I completed some paper work associated with the brand message of our T-shirt, we confidently handed it over to someone outside of our intern group circle. It took him less than 10 minutes to say, "Don't put your eggs in one basket."

After hearing this, time turned back two years and I envisioned myself listening in on a lecture at UD. Energetic teaching duo, Teri Thompson and Don Yoder preached to the class about Irving Janis' Groupthink: a theory defined as "a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the members' strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action."

We, the interns, loved our T-shirt concept. We loved it so much that we didn't cater to other options. Even if we were secretly skeptical, we kept silent because there was so much love around the entire idea. We continued to build upon our T-shirt concept until we finally realized that we were traveling down the hazardous path of groupthink. The intern "outsider" was a flashing yellow light, cautioning us to step outside of our circle and pursue alternative options.

Although communication and business majors are warned in the classroom about work-related hurdles, experiencing them first-hand in a job setting truly drives the message home. This experience has taught our group of interns an invaluable lesson that will prepare us for group projects and client presentations in the future. Now, we know to look at a situation from all angles and to provide several options in a sales pitch.

With some helpful direction from the LS staff, I have faith in our team that we will produce a quality T-shirt that commemorates our time as interns. Make sure you check in after July 23 to see what we come up with!

Rachelle Patsey

Brand Management Intern