Today's post is unusual.
It developed out of several recent conversations about centralization and misuses of power.
Following the Feynman technique, this aims to be simple enough for a child to understand without talking down.
It starts, as many glorious adventures, with a family on safari.
Tactical success is getting something desired.
The family's' tactical goal is enjoying a nice safari.
Strategic goals are those that expand future options.
The safari expands the family's options by improving the kids' ability to understand and deal with their world as they grow up.
Power is the ability to make things happen in the world.
The wind moves the grass; the car moves through grass; the driver's will directs the car; the tour guide's will directs the driver; the family's will directs the tour guide. You get the idea.
Centralization brings together power to achieve strategic and/or tactical goals.
All the tour members get better results by hiring the tour company with a competent guide and sharing the bus instead of walking off in their own preferred directions.
Force is one method of employing power.
The force of the engine on the wheels pushes the bus forward; the force of the family's expectation of a good time pushes the tour guide to move a little closer to the lions.
Influence is another method of employing power.
The 4-year-old whines about not being able to see kitty, so the tour moves closer still.
Force isn't necessarily a problem when the group's goals and needs override the wants of the individual or the few.
When the lion bears down on the bus, nobody votes to let the 4-year-old stay to pet the "pretty kitty".
The risk of centralization is abuse.
The tour guide commands everyone to push the bus attempting to save herself.(Dear reader, with great power comes great responsibility and not everyone rises to the challenge.)
Decentralization reduces the risk of abuse by dissipating power while increasing the risk of helplessness.
Outside the bus and with no one in charge, the group descends into the chaos of arguments, claws and fangs.
To extend the analogy slightly and reduce the taste of such a ghastly end, consider these points outside of the narrative flow.
Neither centralization nor decentralization represent fixed points — they are a continuum.
The set of individuals are most decentralized, the family is more centralized, then the tour group, and most centralized is the tour company.
The importance of rules and process increases with the size of the centralized power.
The family has informal votes; the tour company has a complex system of handbooks, standard operating procedures, governance documents and multiple groups of shareholders vote on proposed actions.
Because decentralization and centralization contain differing advantages and risks, their use follows predictable patterns.
The family votes get curtailed in times of danger and return in times of safety.
Though these definitions fit our fictional family on safari, they can also apply to companies, from freelancers to corporations to professional organizations to multi-nationals. And to political groups, from independent candidates to political parties to republics to politburos. These also apply at multiple levels to universities, IT allocations, public goods and services, and on and on, whenever power is at play.
In a well-functioning system, the group's tactical goals align with the group's strategic goals and systems increase everyone's the safety by reducing the risk of abuse. In systems like a functioning democracy with a strong rule of law, there is room for a massive amount of decentralization.
There will always be some groups that argue for more centralization in attempts to overcome the emergency (real, perceived or contrived). There will always be some group that argue for more decentralization in attempts to increase their options (real, perceived or contrived). And in times of peace, decentralization will usually win out while centralization gains ascendency in emergencies.
Thank you for getting all the way to the end of this somewhat unusual posting. Properly understanding these ideas is fundamental as we talk with ourselves and each other. So, if I got anything wrong or you want to add your insights, please tell me all about it on Twitter!
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