When you have a large group of entities working together, whether cells of a body or people in a group or states in a union or whatever, they have to give up some amount of independence for the strength and direction of the whole. How much independence is given up is a matter of debate and is in constant flux.
Ideally, the flux of independence given and taken back is like the soft waves of the Gulf of Mexico...
And not like the crashing chop in a storm.
Of course new elements in any system can make that system unstable...
... especially if that system was already unstable before the new element was added...
And had grown so large and in diverging directions that it was becoming difficult to find harmony.
And it was easier to form factions than consensus...
(No, factions, not fractions! Eh, never the mind.)
And easier to fight than than to find win-win solutions...
... and add to that volatile situation the fact that a lot of things were untenable and unsustainable and needing change...
(Wrong change, but that kind of works, too.)
... but most people are uncomfortable of (non-currency) change and afraid of things being worst (the devil they know).
(Who doesn't like the music of Tenacious D?!)
So then whatever should the group do?
You could:
1. Majority rules. SCREW YOU MINORITY LOLOLOL! Doesn't seem very fair, now, does it? If you were the minority, that is.
2. Tyrannicize power. Yes, I just dictated my own word, because I can, MUAHAHAHA! It could work, or fail miserably, depending. Either way, it's a scary prospect. I don't think anyone would be comfortable with this, except the Inner Party.
3. Decentralize power. The basic structure stays in place, with a shake up and a shake down, and power is yielded to lower levels as appropriate (some power may float upward as necessary; the point is to never accumulate upward for power's sake, but put power where it best serves). Streamline power and information flow up and down and laterally, organically. Adapt the agile leadership culture over control culture. Leaders are raised. The heart leads some more and the brain leads some less. The gonads lead less, but are also criticized less. This analogy is getting redickyouless.
4. Secede. No one succeeds.
In my humble opinion--well, at least in my not arrogant opinion (IMNAO)--option 3 is by far the one and only reasonable option, and is pretty effing awesome. It maintains the union. Some may want to leave for Canada, sure. There will still be debate and protests, sure. That's what makes Murica the best in the Galaxy.
The keys here are:
1. Find common ground, which is hard when the ball of yarn is starting to come undone. But that's when it's most important. Listen to all voices, especially dissenting voices. Groupthink and herd mentality is partly responsible for the mess.
2. Enact change smartly. Show the need. Get people to buy-in. Inspire your early adapters. Don't go too fast. Recognize and address concerns along the way (not just lip service). Institutionalize the change; codify it and bake it into the culture, the education, etc.
1. Stabilization. Things should calm down a bit. Not gonna please everyone. Probably won't please anyone completely, to be honest. But that pendulum should swing from 3:00 to 8:00 to 5:00 to 6:30 to 6:00. Something like that.
2. Positive change. Life is about growth. Growth means improvement. Uncontrolled growth or growth that doesn't work with the whole is called cancer, and disrupts the whole, if not kills it. But life also evolves for the better and improves by mutating and experimenting and reaching out into the unknown. Not so far or fast that there's no turning back. But also not so stagnant that the whole organism gets left behind and can no longer compete against rivals. Only just enough so that the things that work can keep working, and things that don't work aren't too much wasted effort. It's the Goldilocks perfect medium. And the whole group benefits from these trials and errors.
I'm not sure where I want to put this, so I'll be lazy and toss it at the end. Forgive me.
In this clip, all of the fish were caught in a net and doomed to die. They were panicking, and their panic was contributing to their sure demise. Dory persuaded them, though, to work together to overcome the strength of the net and crane.
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