You probably think that diversity is a good thing and that diverse teams are more effective than teams of clones. And you would be right. Except you wouldn’t.  The diversity that makes a positive difference is cognitive diversity – how we identify, absorb and use information differently from the person in the next seat. And cognitive diversity doesn’t always equate to cultural, gender or ethnic diversity. So whilst there is social value is those kinds of diversity, there’s a danger than when you try to build a diverse team, you accidentally get a clone team anyway.  Watch this video for a short summary of this piece of Darwinian thinking.