Growth should make companies stronger, not slower. Yet as headcount increases, layers of management, meetings, and approvals quietly suffocate execution. The Bloat Paradox explains how bureaucracy disguises itself as maturity, why alignment often kills accountability, and what leaders must do to strip organizations back to speed, clarity, and decisive action.

Founders often believe they are being clear, while teams are carefully protecting themselves. The gap is not motivation or competence. It is language. What sounds casual and empowering at the top lands as risk and exposure below, shaping behavior in ways leaders rarely intend.