Criticality
Organizations should operate near criticality - balanced between too rigid (excessive policies, slow decisions) and too chaotic (frequent conflicts, lack of coordination).
Peak performance lives at the boundary between structure and flexibility.
Starling flocks exhibit criticality - a state poised between order (rigid, unchanging formation) and chaos (random, uncoordinated motion). Criticality maximizes responsiveness: the flock can change direction rapidly (useful for evading predators) without fragmenting (which would leave individuals vulnerable). Physicists discovered that flocks operate at a 'critical point' where collective behavior becomes scale-free. At criticality, perturbations (one bird turning) can propagate across the entire flock regardless of flock size. Below criticality, perturbations die out (flock is too rigid). Above criticality, perturbations amplify chaotically (flock fragments). The mathematical signature is power-law distributions - many small turns, fewer medium turns, rare large turns involving the entire flock. This distribution is characteristic of systems at phase transitions, like water at the freezing point where ice and liquid coexist.
Business Application of Criticality
Organizations should operate near criticality - balanced between too rigid (excessive policies, slow decisions) and too chaotic (frequent conflicts, lack of coordination). The sweet spot enables rapid adaptation without fragmentation. Toyota maintains minimal inventory near this edge; too much buffer creates rigidity, too little creates fragility.