Strict rules and 'strong governance' often kill organizations by forcing them to follow procedures that slowly wreck their original mission.
March 25, 2026
Original Paper
Part 2 – Why Strong Governance Drifts: Translation Drift in Institutional Decision Systems
SSRN · 6248039
The Takeaway
We usually think 'strong governance' prevents failure, but this paper argues it creates 'translation drift.' The more layers of professional management and reporting an institution has, the more likely the original intent is misinterpreted as it moves through the hierarchy.
From the abstract
This paper explains why organisations drift not despite strong governance, but because of it. Capable institutions frequently experience a quieter form of misalignment: strategic drift without visible failure. The article introduces translation drift, a structural mechanism operating at the level of the decision system through which interpretive coherence decays as strategic intent is translated across governance layers. <div> <p><span>This paper is part of the research programme </span><span>Th