Monday, September 14th, 2026
Information travelling up an organisation is edited at every layer by someone with an interest in how it reads. Skipping a level is the cheapest correction available, and most executives run it badly.
Policies accumulate because each was justified at the moment it was written. Almost none are ever removed, and the resulting rulebook governs a company that no longer exists.
The reward for being reliable is more of everything, and most of it is work that did not need this person. Companies measure headcount and never measure who is doing what.
Most reorganisations are announced because a specific, uncomfortable decision was available and nobody wanted to make it. The chart changes, the decision waits, and everyone is busy for two quarters.