Nonlinearity vs. Connectivity

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        Icosystem recognizes that a common property of complex systems is phase transitions. Phase 
        transitions refer to abrupt, nonlinear "jumps" (e.g., ice melts, hot water boils) that 
        arise as consequences of complex interactions. The consequences of a particular action in 
        a business scenario then can be highly dependent on the state of the overall system.
      
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        Imagine a pile of buttons is placed on a table. Select two buttons at random and join them 
        up with a thread and continue this selection and joining process. Now imagine that after 
        each operation we examine the clusters of buttons that are joined together (i.e. if we 
        lift a button up, how many come with it?) and note the size of the largest cluster. If we 
        do this many times and plot the results, what we see is the following relationship between 
        cluster size and the number of threads.
      
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        We can see that the "pay-off" for investing in one more connection is highly dependent on 
        how many connections have already been made. If instead of thinking about buttons we now 
        think in terms of people or companies, we can see how an understanding of the network 
        effects of our actions can help us choose which connections are most appropriate for our 
        objectives and hence stay on the most productive part of the S-Curve.
      
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