Think back to the original Planet of the Apes movie in 1968. Imagine the challenge of making a film where apes talk and behave like humans—all without computer graphics. Every day, 253 actors spent 4-5 hours in prosthetic makeup to become chimps and gorillas, the two distinct types of apes in the film.
What’s fascinating is what happened off-camera. At lunch, the actors divided themselves, with chimps on one side of the dining area and gorillas on the other. In no time, it became Us vs. Them: chimps vs. gorillas. And remember, they were all humans!
Why did this happen? Humans automatically categorize each other. Every time we meet someone new, we subconsciously decide if they’re “one of us” or “one of them,” a process that takes just 50 milliseconds.
Now, imagine this happening in your organization. Two scenarios:
How quickly can this Us vs. Them mindset take hold? And how does it affect project success and company morale? Fortunately, here are five keys to help bring everyone together as one team:
Sometimes, the best solution is the simplest. If you don’t need these teams to work directly together, consider designing the project in a way that allows each team to work on a distinct component. If they can each develop a sub-product independently, you’ve minimized the issue by removing the source of friction.
Think about the movie again—everyone’s common goal was to make the film. Imagine if, instead, they had the shared objective of setting the table and eating lunch without damaging their makeup. This reframes the goal, making it something that includes everyone equally. Similarly, give your teams goals that encourage mutual effort and success.
What if the director had told the ape actors and human crew they all had to eat together, each group tasked with protecting the others’ makeup? You’d quickly see apes on one side and humans on the other. This is “container reframing”—creating a larger “us” by focusing on a shared challenge. In the workplace, you can reframe by aligning teams on larger objectives, like project milestones or company achievements, fostering a unified “team pride.”
Adding diversity turns differences into the norm, building a cohesive tribe rather than divided groups. The first brainstorming session in a diverse team often reveals new perspectives that lead to innovative solutions. In one company we mentored, we had Israeli and German teams working on the same project—two cultures with stark differences. To add to the mix, we included a Ukrainian team. The result? Their sessions became richer, with diverse perspectives enriching collaboration.
Imagine that chimps and gorillas in the desert filming location had to share the same tent, with no excuses. They’d either clash or learn to live together, eventually forming a single entity. This happened to me in the army: a fellow soldier missed his shift, forcing me to pull two back-to-back night shifts. Furious, I confronted him, leading to a scuffle. Our sergeant handcuffed us together for three days. Thirty years later, we’re still best friends.
In the workplace, enforced communication has similar effects. Install webcams in distributed locations, require joint decision-making, or create ambassador exchanges where team members spend time in other locations. At McAfee, we did just that with teams from India and Israel. After six years of Us vs. Them dynamics, four ambassador exchanges transformed them into one unified team with their own shared culture.
Not every approach will work for every team, but give them a try.
As my combat instructor used to say, “Don’t try to stop the waves—surf them!”
…and then he’d deflect my kick and hit me square in the face.
