How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team: Amy Edmondson (Transcript)

Here is the full transcript and summary of author Amy Edmondson’s TED Talk: How to Turn a Group of Strangers into a Team.

Listen to the MP3 Audio:

TRANSCRIPT:

So it’s August 5, 2010. A massive collapse at the San José Copper Mine in Northern Chile has left 33 men trapped half a mile – that’s two Empire State Buildings – below some of the hardest rock in the world. They will find their way to a small refuge designed for this purpose, where they will find intense heat, filth and about enough food for two men for 10 days.

Above ground, it doesn’t take long for the experts to figure out that there is no solution. No drilling technology in the industry is capable of getting through rock that hard and that deep fast enough to save their lives. It’s not exactly clear where the refuge is. It’s not even clear if the miners are alive. And it’s not even clear who’s in charge.

Yet, within 70 days, all 33 of these men will be brought to the surface alive. This remarkable story is a case study in the power of teaming.