M.C. Escher and the Corporate Blue

My fingers were cramping around the mouse, navigating a PDF that seemed designed by M.C. Escher. Every department box was a shade of corporate blue, except for the ones marked ‘Future State,’ which were an aggressive, unearned green. I was watching the All Hands-or rather, watching myself in the small video square in the corner-and realized too late that I hadn’t muted my camera, only my mic. For maybe 4 seconds, the entire leadership team saw me mouth the phrase, “Is this a joke?” and then frantically fumble for the right button.

Zero Impact, Seismic Anxiety

This is where we live now. We just survived the Third Great Reorganization of the year 2024, and the only thing that fundamentally changed was that my previous manager, who was Head of Synergy, is now the Executive Director of Forward Motion. Same desk, same reports, a $44,000 raise, and a completely different reporting structure that forces four teams to submit their requests to a freshly created VP role in London, which, naturally, is still unfilled 44 days later.

We spent 234 man-hours-that’s just the documented time-analyzing the potential impact of this shift, and the conclusion was unanimous: the impact is precisely zero on actual output, but seismic on internal anxiety. The organizational chart, the one we are told is the ‘optimized structure for scale,’ looks like a child built a skyscraper out of wet cardboard.

The Bridge Repaint Metaphor

It’s the corporate equivalent of repainting a bridge while the structural steel beneath is rusting through. The fresh coat of paint looks good for the quarterly presentation, but the capacity of the bridge hasn’t improved by one inch. And everyone who drives over it daily knows it.

“The biggest danger isn’t the rust or the weak bolt. It’s the inconsistency. If a kid expects the next handhold to be 14 inches up, and it’s suddenly 24 inches up because someone swapped out a panel, that’s when they fall. Predictability keeps everyone safe.”

– Max E., Playground Safety Inspector

We need predictability, particularly where stability matters most. Thinking about structural integrity reminds me of businesses that prioritize constancy over structural showmanship. For instance, creating an environment where the client-especially a vulnerable client-knows exactly what to expect is the highest form of operational excellence. You see this dedication to a stable, predictable, and reassuring environment in specialty fields, like the commitment to routine and trust that professionals at

Calgary Smiles Children’s Dental Specialists bring to their practice every day. When everything else is shifting, the anchor needs to hold.

The Contagion: Cosmetic Change

This is where my internal contradiction kicks in. I see the political maneuvering, and I despise the inefficiency it represents. Yet, when I was given the opportunity to restructure my own small team two months ago, I immediately looked at the org chart and said, “Well, we have to change the names. It looks weak if we don’t move something.” I knew it was cosmetic, but I also felt the immense pressure to signal ‘new beginnings.’ It’s a disease; we all catch it.

The Paralysis of Churn

We talk about agility, but this constant structural churn is the antithesis of it. Agility requires stability at the foundation so that quick adjustments can be made at the edges. When the foundation itself is being jackhammered every eighteen months, you don’t get speed; you get slow, grinding paralysis.

What truly exhausts the well-paid, experienced contributor isn’t hard work; it’s working hard on something that is clearly doomed to be changed purely for aesthetic or political reasons before it ever sees fruition. We are constantly laying track for a train that we know the new CEO will reroute before the next fiscal quarter.