Principlev1

Classify organizational decisions along two

Classify organizational decisions along two dimensions—information locality and cross-boundary impact—to determine whether they should be fully distributed, distributed with coordination, centralized, or automated.

Why This Is a Principle

Derives from Goals as Perceptual Filters (goals define relevance as a filtering criterion), The behavior of a system arises from its structure, not from (system behavior arises from structure), and Shared mental models among group members determine what the (shared mental models determine group perception). The principle follows: if relevance is goal-relative, system behavior is structural, and groups perceive through shared models, then decision placement must be determined by where relevant information and necessary coordination intersect.

Source Lessons

L-1682

Distributed decision-making

Moving decisions to the people closest to the information improves both speed and quality. Centralized decision-making creates a fundamental information problem: the person with the authority to decide is not the person with the best information about the situation. Every level of hierarchy that a decision must traverse adds delay (the decision waits in someone's queue), distortion (the information is simplified or filtered as it moves upward), and distance (the decision-maker lacks the contextual nuance that the person closest to the situation possesses). Distributed decision-making solves this problem by moving authority to where the information already is — but it requires infrastructure to maintain coordination.

Connections

Derived From (3)

AxiomGoals as Perceptual Filters AxiomThe behavior of a system arises from its structure, not from AxiomShared mental models among group members determine what the

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