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100: How Strong Businesses Become Weak Bureaucracies
How Great Businesses Become Ineffective Bureaucracies
Ever stood in line for a passport or permit and thought, “How did it get this bad?” Bureaucracy doesn’t start broken—it creeps in. In this episode, we unpack why even great companies calcify: Pournelle’s Iron Law (organizations drift to serving themselves), and Parkinson’s Law (headcount grows 5–7% a year regardless of workload). Wikiquote+1
You’ll hear how complexity multiplies—extra layers, approvals, and legacy tech—until speed dies. (Yes, a major UK rail operator still uses fax to reach crews.) And why some governments deliberately…
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