Mechanism
Threshold-Triggered Coordination
TL;DR
Organizations use metrics as autoinducer concentrations - signals that the organization has reached quorum.
Quorum sensing demonstrates threshold-triggered coordination: behavior changes only when population is dense enough to succeed. Entire population shifts strategy simultaneously (like flash mob). Don't waste resources on behaviors that only work at high density.
Business Application of Threshold-Triggered Coordination
Organizations use metrics as autoinducer concentrations - signals that the organization has reached quorum. Stripe's $5M ARR threshold before hiring VP of Sales ensured product-market fit was validated before scaling sales infrastructure.