When Success Hides Failure: Detecting Readiness Erosion Before It Breaks

This episode exposes how organizations mistake visible behaviors and performance metrics for root causes, remaining blind to the slow erosion of readiness—cognitive load, fatigue, psychological safety, technical debt, and social strain—that precedes failure.

Drawing on resilience engineering, sociotechnical theory, and cross-industry examples, it argues for shifting from reactive, outcome-based monitoring to leading readiness indicators and practical interventions—pulse surveys, fatigue management, protected slack, Just Culture, and prospective risk reviews—to detect and stop degradation before incidents occur.