Braess' paradox proves that sometimes less is more
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Traffic around Seoul sped up when a major highway was removed. Sometimes reality is counterintuitive.
Traffic around Seoul sped up when a major highway was removed. What? Can removing a highway really improve traffic? It can indeed.
What happened in South Korea has been cited as a real-life example of Braess' paradox. It’s the observation that adding more roads to a network can end up making overall traffic flow worse.
The same thing can happen at work. More people is not always the answer. And neither is more tools. Those things could be helpful, but keeping an eye on the flow of work is much more important.
In recent years my understanding of project management and productivity has been challenged by learning about:
- Flow/Lean/Kanban and the power of limiting work in progress.
- Shaping/Making bets and the power of limiting scope.
- Slowing down to speed up.
Sometimes the best way forward is counterintuitive and we must keep an open mind in order to stay ahead. Below is a video, article and book that has helped sharpen my leadership instincts: