Companies that chase short-term wins at the cost of their system's long-term health often face erosion and damage over time.
Slow accumulation of small deviations, detours, and exceptions fragments the shared mental model, increases operational overhead, and erodes strategic coherence.
Leadership often fails to recognize the structural damage until symptoms like misalignment, burnout, and customer churn appear.
Real leadership lies in the discipline to say no to short-term wins and protect the strategic integrity of the company to ensure long-term success.