Optimization's Hidden Cost

We have been taught that perfection is the goal. Optimize every process. Eliminate every inefficiency. Squeeze out every drop of waste. But there is a problem: perfectly optimized systems are fragile. A machine works best when everything is precisely calibrated. Remove one bolt, change one variable, and the whole thing breaks. There's no redundancy. No slack. No room for adaptation. Living systems work differently. An ecosystem thrives because of what looks like inefficiency: overlapping functions, redundant pathways, seemingly wasteful diversity. That apparent waste? It's actually resilience. It's what lets the system absorb shocks, adapt to change, and evolve. The organizations we're building today face the same choice. We can chase perfect optimization: lean processes, maximum productivity, zero friction. But we'll get brittle systems that snap under pressure. Or we can design for resilience, even if it means tolerating some inefficiency. This is what ecosystem architecture is really about: building organizations that work more like living systems than machines. It's not about rejecting efficiency. It's about understanding that in complex, changing environments, a little healthy redundancy beats perfect optimization every time. https://yeehaa.io/essays/economy-of-garbage #EcosystemArchitecture #OrganizationalDesign #Resilience #SystemsThinking #FutureOfWork