i was recently having a convo with my buddy (largely as a joke) about how to truly succeed in bureaucracies. we discussed how one of the biggest mistakes ppl make in very bigcorp life, especially in bloated orgs, is thinking simplification is the goal. it’s not. simplification is punished. it reveals too much. it threatens power structures, uncovers incompetence, & removes the need for whole teams. simplification will create enemies. the real game is complexification. not in a chaotic way. it has to be fashionable complexity. complexity that looks like intelligence. introduce ambiguity. spin up cross functional workstreams. launch studies with no end state. raise questions that can’t be answered. build “alignment” across 12 stakeholders. this is how you win. if you want to succeed in bureaucracies make things seem hard. then make them even harder. inject process. delay clarity. make your presence essential to navigating the mess you helped create. that’s how you get promoted.