Exit vs. Repair

The cost of Persistence

Every system reaches a point where the cost of maintenance exceeds the value of the output. This lens provides a cold assessment of institutional viability. We distinguish between “repairable friction,” where the system is fundamentally designed for a reality that no longer exists.

Forensic Indicators

• Sunk Cost Gravity: Identifying where a system is maintained solely because of the resources already lost to it, rather than it’s current utility
• Adaptation Fatigue: When the energy required for personnel to “work around” the system’s flaws is higher than the energy produced by the system itself.
• Institutional Drift: Locating where the original “Moral Intention” has been entirely replaced by the singular goal of mere survival.

The Deliverable

A Viability Assessment, a decision-making framework that determines whether to invest in structural renovations or to initiate a controlled decommissioning strategy.