# Prioritization and Self-organization By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2023-01-13 Many people are skeptical about the process of prioritization in a self-organizing company. We are so used to someone else telling us our priorities and what to do that we forget any other way of operating together. When children play games together, how do they decide what to do and when to stop? Maybe one child says they want to play tag. Either everyone else goes along with the idea, or another child says they want to play something else. What the children decide to do is not put into a decision matrix, presented to the nearest adult in charge, and then executed per the adult's instructions. Humans are naturally collaborative - it's how we survived, thrived, and conquered the earth. There are many ways to work together without top-down command and control. See democracies, rock/paper/scissors, and [[jazz]]. However, we often place too much emphasis on the decision and not enough on the system itself. In actuality, we have very few choices compared to the infinite possibilities. Nature and systems flow as they wish - we are just along for the ride. People and organizations who realize the nature and direction of the system early are often those who benefit the most. Why did we decide to prioritize building shelter? Because we knew winter was coming. Why did we prioritize growing crops? Because it was more efficient in the long run. Why did we decide to focus on cutting costs? Because the competition is coming and we want to thrive. System dynamics and problems dictate solutions. Self-organizing companies are just as, if not more, capable of anticipating, sensing, and responding in a complex adaptive way than any other organizational structure. Priorities will emerge because they must, and it's what we are programmed to do: solve problems. Some organizations will succeed, but many will fail. Self-organizing companies will not solve the prioritization challenges. But they will out-compete everyone else for the foreseeable future. #### Related Items [[Complex Systems]] [[Self-organization]] [[Power]] [[Business]] [[Management]] [[Systems Thinking]]