50% of the work is done by the square root of the total number of people who participate in the work.

Quote of the Week 8

"50% of the work is done by the square root of the total number of people who participate in the work."
― Price's Square Root Law (adapted)


Triggered by Brian Burns' use of the law in the context of sales organizations.

Note that Price's well-known square root law originally states that "half of the literature on a subject will be contributed by the square root of the total number of authors publishing in that area".
(Price's square root law: Empirical validity and relation to Lotka's law - ScienceDirect)

One should be careful applying the law to different organizational contexts. It does not necessarily apply to performance management in general.

See also: 

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