3 ms·

If a person can represent two people then he can represent a theoretically unlimited number (just arrange everyone into a binary tree).

• rahimnathwani 5y ago
  That's like saying someone who can manage a team of 7 can manage an organization of unlimited size, because each of those 7 can manage 7 others etc.
  • daveguy 5y ago
    Good point. N**2 is probably the maximum, unless you're also adept at managing the management.
  • PeterisP 5y ago
    Isn't that pretty much how we actually manage huge organizations ? A top general in ww2 (modern armies are much smaller despite the world having tripled in population) could manage literally millions of people in a direct chain of command for a single purpose, mostly through the use of hierarchically nested units which each had similar substructures.
    • rahimnathwani 5y ago
      In large organizations, culture and instructions don't flow down with only through the chain of command. Think about a large company like Google. Lots of energy is spent on ensuring alignment, common culture etc., and this isn't achieved primarily through manager->subordinate communication. Maybe armies are a special case due to the limited instruction set.