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Can it stay there?
Maintenance asks whether the desired condition persists rather than disappearing once the forces that produced it are removed.
A lens
Achievement alignment
Can the system reach the desired state?
Achievement alignment is the simplest temporal question: whether a system can attain a target, enter a desired region, or successfully produce an intended outcome.
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Reaching a target is an accomplishment — but only one kind.
A system can successfully reach a desired state without being able to remain there. It can solve a problem once without being able to solve it again after conditions change.
Achievement therefore tells us that the target can be attained, not that the organization required to sustain or recover it is robust.
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Can it recover?
Corrective alignment asks what happens after the system is pushed away from the target.
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Can it rebuild its ability to recover?
Regenerative alignment asks whether damaged alignment-producing machinery can itself be reconstructed.
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