System

Hidden Cost of Breakage

The U.S. workforce generates over 250 billion labor hours annually. Even a 10% to 30% inefficiency results in tens of billions of hours lost to delays, rework, and system friction, equating to hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars in lost productivity. At the same time, 1% to 4% friction across systems can generate hundreds of billions in retained value.

This is not purely accidental.

Breakage persists through duplication, tool sprawl, and coordination overhead, driven by incentives tied to cost control and margin optimization. Employee time becomes internal loss, while consumer time and capital are retained as revenue, with costs redistributed outward to consumers, counterparties, and taxpayers.