--- title: Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork description: It's not about the target canonical: https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-17T05:01:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:08:02.990Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork og:description: It's not about the target og:url: https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6ed4fb4920c22dc/69877a7235ba6fed33c0690e/f1-pit-crew.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: f1-pit-crew og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork twitter:description: It's not about the target twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6ed4fb4920c22dc/69877a7235ba6fed33c0690e/f1-pit-crew.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 17, 2015 5:01 AM UTC  Racing team working at pit stop Racing team working at pit stopGetty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Jan 17, 2015 5:01 AM UTC It might be to forget about trying to be fast at all and to just focus on being _smooth_. A Formula One pit crew — a group that depends on efficient, fast teamwork — found that they weren’t at top speed when they concentrated on speed. It was when they emphasized functioning smoothly as a group that they made their best times. Via Oliver Burkeman’s wonderful [The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0865479410/ref=as%5Fli%5Fss%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0865479410&linkCode=as2&tag=spacforrent-20): --- > “” --- **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/11/fast-teamwork/)**_._** **Join over 151,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [6 Things The Most Productive People Do Every Day](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/06/most-productive-people/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/"},"headline":"Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork","datePublished":"2015-01-17T05:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:08:02.990Z","description":"It's not about the target","url":"https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/","keywords":["Psychology","Careers & Workplace","advice"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6ed4fb4920c22dc/69877a7235ba6fed33c0690e/f1-pit-crew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eric Barker","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/eric-barker/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd6ed4fb4920c22dc/69877a7235ba6fed33c0690e/f1-pit-crew.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"f1-pit-crew","caption":"f1-pit-crew","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/psychology/","name":"Psychology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3671980/good-teamwork/","name":"Here's the Secret to Fast and Efficient Teamwork"}}]}] ```