Each agent within the system shapes, and is shaped by, interaction with other agents. Thus, the whole is different from the sum of its parts in that the generated system is not the sum of its members' characteristics but rather a unique entity created by their joint interactions. Control and influence are highly dispersed in complex adaptive systems. No individual agent shapes the development of the system. To confer leadership on an individual cell, or neuron could be fatal to the system since individual agents are fragile and transitory.
Dispersed control increases a system's chances of survival.
Complex adaptive systems consist of many levels of organization and agents at one level act as building blocks for agents at higher levels. Again, as with the first principle, this is not so much a matter for empirical investigation as it is one of conceptual definition. If one concedes that human groups do exist, as is the premise behind this paper, than one must concede that these groups are comprised of units or building blocks, these being individual humans. The actions of complex adaptive systems are the result of cooperation and competition among its agents. Thus, the system that emerges is the result of numerous individual efforts to compete and cooperate in order to enhance the individual viability of system agents.