When Failure Becomes Rational

Decision Authority, Incentives, and Organisational Behaviour

Most organisations do not fail because people are incompetent, unethical, or unmotivated.

This short book provides a diagnostic lens for understanding why failure persists even when capable people act in good faith.

It explains:

• why replacing people rarely fixes recurring problems,

• how decision authority — not titles — determines outcomes,

• how incentives silently program behaviour,

• why organisations stop learning when authority becomes indeterminate,

• and why design always has an owner, whether acknowledged or not.

It sharpens judgment.

If you finish this document understanding why outcomes persist but remain uncertain how to redesign, the book has done its job.

This is a diagnostic lens, not a playbook.

If you are still debating whether the problem is people, execution, or commitment, you have not reached the real constraint yet.

This work is written for people who are accountable for outcomes, have tried multiple interventions in good faith, and are seeing the same failures recur under different people.