Four Is Not Arbitrary

Navy SEALs operate in 4-person fire teams.

Not 6. Not 8.

Four.

This isn't tradition. It's math.

4 people = 6 relationships to maintain.
6 people = 15 relationships.
8 people = 28 relationships.

Coordination cost grows with the square of team size. Capacity grows linearly.

At some point, coordination overwhelms capacity.

The SEALs found that point. It's four.

At four, everyone knows what everyone else is doing.

At eight, you need processes, check-ins, commanders.

The most elite military unit in the world doesn't succeed despite being small.

They succeed because they're small.

Most organizations add people when they need speed.

The SEALs do the opposite.

They architect around what the brain can actually coordinate.

This note explores Coordination Cost Scaling, one of four dynamics from The Momentum Engine. The constraint isn't willpower. It's math.