Your Coordination Tax
Quantify the hidden cost of coordination overhead using the 4M framework
Most organizations operate without visibility into their coordination costs. The sum of meetings, status updates, approvals, context switching, and administrative overhead remains invisible—even as it consumes 30–50% of operating budgets.
This calculator provides that visibility. Using the 4M framework validated across 20+ organizations, you'll measure your organization's coordination tax in minutes.
The 4M Framework
Coordination overhead comes from four sources:
- Meetings — Time in coordination meetings (status updates, standups, syncs, planning)
- Messages — Time on coordination emails and chat (status requests, decision routing, context chasing)
- Management — Headcount dedicated to coordination (project managers, coordinators, admins)
- Movement — Time work spends waiting instead of being worked on (context switching, bottlenecks)
Calculate Your Coordination Tax
Enter your organization's actual numbers below. This assessment is confidential—it's designed to provide you visibility into what's really happening in your organization. Be honest. The accuracy of your results depends on it.
Meetings
Include standups, status meetings, planning, syncs, steering committees
Default: $75/hour (blended rate)
Messages
Research suggests 2.5 hours/day total, 60-70% coordination
Typical: 60-70%
Management
PMs, program managers, coordinators, admin staff
Default: $120,000/year
Your Budget
Your Coordination Tax
Meetings
$0
per week
Messages
$0
per week
Management
$0
per week
Weekly Total
$0
per week
Annual Coordination Overhead
Meetings
$0
Messages
$0
Management
$0
Total Annual
$0
As % of Operating Budget
0.0
%
Transformation Outcomes
Organizations that redesign for post-project world principles typically achieve 60–75% reduction in coordination overhead. These are not theoretical numbers—they're based on direct implementation across multiple organizational contexts and scales.
Conservative estimate (60% reduction)
$0
annual savings
Typical result (65% reduction)
$0
annual savings
Strong improvement (75% reduction)
$0
annual savings
How You Compare
Industry Benchmarks
0%
Under 20%
20–35%
35–50%
Above 50%
Well-Run Organization
20–35%
This is the healthy range. Most well-managed organizations operate here.
What Comes Next
Understanding Your Score
Below 20%: Lean Coordination
Your coordination overhead is exceptionally low. Organizations at this level have achieved what most never do: clear decision-making authority, transparent information flow, and genuinely autonomous teams. This is not the default state. The strategic question shifts from "how do we reduce?" to "how do we protect and scale this?"
20–35%: Well-Managed Organization
This is the healthy operating range. Well-run organizations with solid management practices typically sit here. Coordination overhead exists but it's contained. You have a foundation to build from. Typical improvement potential: 30–50% reduction with focused structural changes.
35–50%: Significant Overhead
This is where most enterprises operate. You're allocating substantial resources to coordination that doesn't directly produce value. However, organizations in this range routinely achieve 60–75% reduction through systematic redesign, yielding $500K–$5M+ in annual savings depending on scale.
Above 50%: Coordination Constrained
Your organization is heavily constrained by coordination overhead. This is unsustainable long-term—but it's also highly fixable. The scale of the opportunity means transformation tends to deliver rapid, visible improvements. This is actually the ideal starting point for systemic change.
What Comes Next
Your coordination tax calculator result is one data point: a baseline. What matters next is understanding what's possible for your specific organization. If your score indicates significant opportunity, or if you're curious about what 60–75% reduction looks like in practice, contact Luigi directly to explore transformation options.