This morning I jumped on a completely empty carriage as I took the Tube into Central London.
It got me thinking about how most complex systems have periods of peak activity that contrast with periods of minimal activity. Think public transport networks, electricity grids, hospitals, and the teams you work in.
It’s moments of peak stress that matter, not the average workload, when designing the capacity of the system. There should always be enough slack in the system to be ready for the peak.