Scientific Definition
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
Plain-English Definition
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
Feynman Explanation
Strength comes from the mixture, not the purity.
Core Principle
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Combining substances to create a new material stronger than its parts.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Cross-functional teams outperform silos when the mix is right.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Strength comes from the mixture, not the purity.
Examples
- Steel combines iron and carbon to outperform either alone.
- Cross-functional teams outperform silos when the mix is right.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design teams where different skills are combined, not stacked.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Design teams where different skills are combined, not stacked.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
A single constraint limits the throughput of an entire system.
A system's throughput is constrained by its single slowest step.
Small visible disorders signal that bigger ones will be tolerated.
Adding manpower to a late software project makes it later.
Adding people to a late project makes it later.
A substance that speeds up a reaction without being consumed.
Nonlinear systems are highly sensitive to initial conditions.
Inputs combine under conditions to produce new outputs — sometimes irreversibly.
Software architecture mirrors org structure.
Working together has a cost that scales with the number of people.
The threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining.
Designing systems for the lowest-capability user produces resilience for everyone.