Humboldt Squid

Humboldt squid are aggressive pack hunters that coordinate attacks through rapid color-changing communication. Schools of hundreds hunt together at night, flashing chromatic patterns that may coordinate movement and signal prey location. Each squid maintains distributed arm control while simultaneously participating in group coordination. It's distributed intelligence at two levels: within individual bodies and across social groups.

The dual-level distribution enables hunting strategies impossible for solitary cephalopods. Individual squid can process local prey detection and capture while attending to group signals about school movement and prey concentration. Some researchers interpret their color displays as a rudimentary language for coordinating attack angles and timing. Whether true language or not, the system allows collective action among organisms whose primary intelligence is distributed throughout their own bodies.

For business, Humboldt squid represent organizations combining internal distributed authority with external network coordination. Franchise networks, industry associations, and alliance ecosystems exhibit similar dual-level distribution. Each member organization maintains internal distributed decision-making while coordinating with peers through shared signals (pricing, standards, marketing). The complexity compounds - distributed organizations coordinating with other distributed organizations - but the potential for coordinated action exceeds what centralized hierarchies achieve.