Nothing Is Broken Enough to Fix
Most systems don’t fail loudly.
They keep working — just not for everyone.
Deadlines are missed, but things still get done.
Decisions are delayed, but someone fills the gap.
Responsibilities blur, but outcomes are delivered.
From the outside, it looks functional.
From the inside, it relies on a small number of people compensating continuously.
This is how systems rot quietly.
Not because no one cares — but because the people who do care absorb the friction before it becomes visible.
Over time, a pattern forms:
The same people adapt.
The same people anticipate.
The same people explain, smooth, buffer, and repair.
The system never feels the strain —
because it’s being carried elsewhere.
This is why nothing changes.
There is no crisis.
No clear failure.
No moment where responsibility is forced to surface.
Just a steady reliance on goodwill.
When someone finally stops compensating, the response is rarely curiosity.
It is disruption.
Why is this suddenly a problem?
Things were working fine before.
But “working” only meant the cost was hidden.
Systems that depend on invisible labour will always resist accountability —
because accountability would require acknowledging where the weight has been landing.
So the system stabilises itself by discouraging refusal.
Not overtly.
Quietly.
Through norms.
Through expectations.
Through praise for flexibility and resilience.
Nothing breaks.
And that is the problem.