Concept · Organizational & Team Heuristics
Span of Control (7±2)
Origin: Miller's Law application / management theory
Biological Parallel
Wolf packs typically number 5-10 individuals with one breeding pair maintaining direct oversight—larger packs fragment due to coordination costs. Primate social groups show similar cognitive limits: a single alpha can track and manage relationships with roughly 7-12 direct subordinates before coalition complexity overwhelms working memory. Beyond this threshold, sub-hierarchies emerge or groups split, mirroring the mathematical relationship between brain size and manageable social bonds.