The Compasses — Episode 4: Capacity, Appetite, and Cycles of Collapse
Download MP3This episode examines the Compasses at a systemic level, where growth, demand, and capacity interact over time. Rather than treating expansion as inherently positive, the Compasses are used to diagnose when appetites begin to exceed what a system can sustain. The episode traces a recurring pattern of overreach, strain, collapse, and restart, and explores how boundaries and outsourcing function as tools for maintaining scalability.
🔑 Key Takeaways
- Systems are designed to grow, either explicitly or implicitly
- Growth increases appetite, scope, and demand
- When capacity cannot support demand, collapse follows predictable cycles
- Boundaries and outsourcing preserve scalability
- Systems rarely remain in equilibrium for long
💬 Featured Quotes
- 0:00:11–0:00:23
“Organizations and even individual organisms in a system have a desire to grow.” - 0:01:12–0:01:18
“Without the appropriate amount of capacity to solve those organizational appetites, you’re going to go through these cycles.” - 0:01:21–0:01:38
“The cycle looks something like an overreach… some level of strain… then either a correction of some sort or a complete collapse and then a restart.” - 0:02:27–0:02:36
“How can I exert that influence in a way that allows us to either build capacity… or reshape that demand in a way that’s manageable?” - 0:02:43–0:02:49
“The boundaries between organizations start to become useful for creating that scalability that you need.” - 0:04:35–0:04:39
“Very rarely do they sit in sort of equilibrium for long.” - 0:04:39–0:04:41
“There will always be a desire to grow and change and evolve.”
Creators and Guests
Host
Brian Mattocks
Host and Founder of A Mason's Work - a podcast designed to help you use symbolism to grow. He's been working in the craft for over a decade and served as WM, trustee, and sat in every appointed chair in a lodge - at least once :D
