Could a Business Appear Efficient While Becoming More Fragile?
What removes slack can also remove protection.
Sometimes. Reducing buffers, inventory, or spare capacity can improve efficiency while increasing vulnerability.
A company minimizes inventory to reduce costs. For months, performance metrics improve.
The hidden mechanism is resilience erosion. Systems often become more efficient by removing spare resources that would otherwise absorb disruptions.
The tradeoff remains invisible until something unexpected happens.
Efficiency is measured during normal days. Resilience reveals its value on abnormal ones.
