Working definition. Coordination is the design of fit across time, roles, decisions, and dependencies. It makes collective action coherent without requiring everyone to do or think the same thing.
Inherited meaning
Organisations inherited coordination from logistics, administration, and systems theory: sequencing work, reducing collision, and making handoffs reliable. It is often confused with collaboration, but the two solve different problems. Collaboration transforms understanding; coordination aligns action.
Meaning in the imagination economy
AI increases the number and speed of actors—human and synthetic—that can contribute to a project. The resulting problem is rarely a lack of output. It is keeping intent, context, standards, and responsibility intact as work crosses boundaries. Coordination becomes the connective tissue between imagination and consequence.
What changes in practice
Define who can decide, what must remain shared, where context travels, and when work returns to human judgment. Use machines to carry state and routine; use people to renegotiate meaning when the situation changes.