Momentum Engineering
Building systems that move faster than friction
THE CORE INSIGHT
We say "you can have speed or quality, pick one."
What we mean is "our trust is so low that politics eat all our capacity."
Organizational velocity isn't about working harder. It's governed by physics: coordination costs grow exponentially while capacity grows linearly. At some team size, you're slower despite having more people.
The fastest companies aren't moving faster. They have less friction. And friction is a trust problem wearing an operations costume.
START HERE
Friction Forces Choice
Every false tradeoff in business—speed vs. quality, growth vs. stability, innovation vs. execution—is actually a trust problem in disguise.
This reframes everything you thought about organizational constraints.
THE MECHANISM (CHOOSE YOUR ANGLE)
"What's the actual math behind trust?"
Check Zeros First
"How does momentum compound over time?"
Loop, Not Line
"Why does trust collapse so fast?"
Five to One
Most organizations optimize for the wrong variables. These notes explore the physics underneath organizational velocity.
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CONNECTED PATTERNS
Momentum Engineering connects to Shadow Systems (when friction wins, workarounds emerge) and Emergent Loops (how momentum compounds recursively).