Non-Transitive Dominance
Result: perpetual low-grade conflict, decision paralysis, and 'meeting overhead' - the cost of resolving circular authority through negotiation.
Non-transitive hierarchies work in small, simple systems. They collapse in large, complex organizations where thousands of decisions require clear authority. Linearity scales. Circularity doesn't.
Not all hierarchies are linear. Some species display circular or non-transitive dominance where A beats B, B beats C, but C beats A. This creates fascinating instability.
The side-blotched lizard provides the clearest example. Males come in three strategies: Orange-throated (aggressive, defend large territories), Blue-throated (cooperative, defend smaller territories with pair bonds), and Yellow-throated (sneaky, no territory, mimic females). The dominance relationship is circular: Orange beats Blue (aggression overwhelms cooperation), Blue beats Yellow (pair bonds detect sneaks), Yellow beats Orange (sneaks can't be excluded from large territories).
This creates a rock-paper-scissors dynamic where no strategy is permanently dominant. Population frequencies cycle on a 6-year period.
Business Application of Non-Transitive Dominance
Matrix management structures create non-transitive hierarchies where Regional VP beats Product Manager in geography decisions, Product Manager beats Regional VP in feature prioritization, Finance beats both on budget, and Operations beats Finance on delivery. Result: perpetual low-grade conflict, decision paralysis, and 'meeting overhead' - the cost of resolving circular authority through negotiation.