Definition: The dangerously fragile state of a company where a single employee possesses irreplaceable, often undocumented expertise—like a specialized machine whisperer or a client whisperer—making the entire operation dependent on their unique skills. Management usually ignores this vulnerability until it’s too late, treating the role as low-skill grunt work.
When this human keystone leaves (often after being undervalued), the whole system collapses faster than a Jenga tower. Contracts implode, machines sabotage themselves, and decades-old businesses evaporate because nobody else can “turn the knob to about here” or soothe furious clients. Corporate Darwinism at its finest.
Example:
When the veteran press operator retired, the factory shut down for weeks; only he knew the exact sequence to restart the temperamental machine line.
The “client whisperer” quit after being denied a raise, taking her unique rapport with major accounts and causing three lucrative contracts to immediately collapse.