Chain of Command

Biological Parallel

Pecking orders in chickens establish linear dominance hierarchies where A pecks B, B pecks C, C pecks D—a biological chain of command that reduces costly fights. Each bird "knows its place" through repeated interactions, and challenges flow upward through ranks rather than erupting chaotically. But rigid chains create bottlenecks: when the alpha is removed, the hierarchy collapses into violent reorganization rather than smooth succession. Military command chains have the same vulnerability—optimized for stability, fragile during leadership transitions.