Why risk looking like an idiot when you can remain average? - Shane Parrish

Scientific Theory of Management by Frederick Taylor, which had factory managers breaking down tasks into small pieces, forcing their workers to specialize, and financially incentivizing them to complete those tasks efficiently. It was a brute force method, but it worked pretty well.

The social rewards for going with the crowd are felt long before the benefits of going against it are gained.

Time is the friend of someone who is properly positioned and the enemy of someone poorly positioned.