"[There is] a critical balance that any organization has to manage -- the balance between freedom of action for the parts and unity of effort for the whole.
Too little autonomy for the parts leads to inaction, inflexibility, hesitation, and lost opportunities.
Too little unity of effort means that individual [organizational] achievement is not synchronized, exploited, or leveraged"
General Michael Hayden
"Playing to the Edge"
"Playing to the Edge"
Although he didn't say it as such, Hayden was very close to the Principle of Subsidiarity when he spoke of autonomy for the parts, and he was speaking like a system engineer when he spoke of unity of effort of the whole, especially the recognition that sequencing, phasing, and complimentary interaction -- without setting off chaotic responses -- is essential for getting the most out of the parts arranged as a system.
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