The late Richard Holbrooke knew communication as well as he knew foreign affairs.
Forty years ago, when he was editor of Foreign Policy magazine—the subject of one of his last speeches—he said this undeniably true thing, about the danger inherent in a society comprised of unfathomably large organizations:
“The chances of catastrophe grow, as organizations grow in number and size, and internal communications become more time consuming, less intelligible, and less controllable.”