TED Talks Daily The surprisingly simple reason teams fail | Tessa West
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Dec 8, 2025 
In this engaging discussion, psychology professor Tessa West sheds light on the communication failures that led to NASA's 1999 Mars Climate Orbiter disaster. She explains how hidden assumptions and unique jargon can derail even the best teams. Tessa highlights the importance of questioning so-called 'obvious' checks and acknowledges how tone and urgency can cause critical warnings to be overlooked. With practical solutions like restating key points and encouraging clarification, she offers valuable insights for improving team dynamics and decision-making.
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Mars Mission Lost Over Units
- NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter exploded because teams used different units (Newtons vs pounds) and never aligned on that basic fact.
- The missing 20-second clarification doomed the mission despite expert engineers working on it.
Important Alerts Missed By Process
- Critical warnings were ignored because the holders hadn't used the formal reporting form and their message never reached decision makers.
- Urgent phone calls also failed when the receiver didn't perceive the caller's voice as sufficiently anxious.
Shared Info Crowds Out Critical Data
- Teams repeatedly favor shared information over unique data, causing them to pick the wrong option.
- Even when everyone wants the right outcome, groups miss critical unique facts and still feel like the discussion went well.