Mechanism
A founding objective continues to coordinate decisions after the original context and authority have disappeared.
Enabling conditions
- A compelling founding narrative
- Institutions that reward fidelity more than learning
- Limited access to the assumptions behind the plan
Failure modes
- The mission becomes a substitute for current evidence
- Dissent is treated as disloyalty
Diagnostic questions
- 1.Which assumptions may be challenged without challenging the mission itself?
- 2.Who has explicit authority to stop or revise the plan?