Systems grow best at their optimal rate, not faster

Efficiency-oriented humans tend to value acceleration: fast → faster → fastest! But natural systems have their own optimal growth rates, which is always far less than the fastest possible. Forcing acceleration beyond the intrinsically optimal growth rate can have the same destructive effect of cancer in the human body.

… virtually all natural systems, from ecosystems to animals to organizations, have intrinsically optimal rates of growth. The optimal rate is far less than the fastest possible growth. When growth becomes excessive—as it does in cancer—the system itself will seek to compensate by slowing down; perhaps putting the organization’s survival at risk in the process.^[1]

#systems-thinking #effectiveness

See also:

• Non-systemic solutions are addictive
• Low-leverage interventions are alluring because they work in the short term