Coordination Drag

When the product direction changes slowly, alignment pays for itself. When the direction changes quickly, alignment expires before it can compound.

Rate of change
Fast
Coordination drag visual model A visual model showing teams aligning around a changing product hypothesis. As change increases, coordination threads multiply and learning capacity falls.
Alignment half-life
5 days
How long alignment stays useful before the facts change.
Coordination load
68%
Attention spent keeping every thread current.
PMF learning left
32%
Attention left for experiments and customer signal.
The PMF-maximizing move is not “align everyone harder.” It is to reduce the active coordination surface area so the team can keep running the next experiment.