Strategic Silence
Organizations rarely think about when to withhold signals rather than broadcast them.
In nature, not all communication involves making sound. Many species have evolved 'freeze' behaviors - going acoustically silent when predators are near. Male tungara frogs add attractive 'chuck' components to their calls only when bat predation risk is low; when bats are active, they emit only the simpler 'whine' call. They modulate acoustic output based on strategic calculation.
Business Application of Strategic Silence
Organizations rarely think about when to withhold signals rather than broadcast them. But silence is information. Companies that announce every product iteration create noise that drowns out important launches. CEOs who comment on every news cycle become background static. Jeff Bezos was famous for long silences in meetings. Apple announces products 2-4 times per year. Strategic silence isn't absence of communication - it's intentional modulation of frequency to maximize signal-to-noise ratio.