cost that survives transmission

Transmission Decay

Channel degradation accelerates when intermediate layers alter parameters during handoffs, forcing receiving teams to spend cognitive energy reconstructing original intent. Information loss scales nonlinearly with the number of organisational nodes a directive traverses, turning simple coordination tasks into costly translation exercises. Downstream operators absorb these losses directly through lost hours and corrective reworking, while upstream creators remain insulated from the downstream penalty.

Friction Gradient

The differential between sender intent and receiver comprehension defines the baseline inefficiency of inter-team communication. High gradients indicate poor shared context, requiring excessive management intervention to prevent operational drift. Lowering this residual overhead demands strict standardisation of inputs, reducing the interpretive load placed upon receiving units.

Overhead Persistence

Structural persistence ensures that once coordination drag enters a system, it resists removal through standard efficiency measures because each department optimises its local environment rather than the transmission pathway. Left unchecked, accumulated coordination friction degrades overall throughput until systemic redesign forces a reset of internal boundaries.