Phase VII is not collapse.
It is the moment legitimacy is endangered by its own mythology.
At this stage, organizations do not fail because they are ineffective.
They fail because their past success hardens into untouchable belief.
1. Phase VII Context: When Canon Turns Into Myth
Phase VI institutionalized legitimacy.
Phase VII asks the dangerous question few dare to ask:
“Which truths have silently turned into legends?”
Legitimacy erodes when canon stops being reviewed
and starts being revered.
2. The Myth Accumulation Risk
Most Phase VII business declines follow this pattern:
| What Is Repeated | What Stops |
|---|---|
| Founding stories | Critical review |
| Canonical rules | Contextual judgment |
| “This is how we do it” | Curiosity |
| Legacy metrics | Environmental sensing |
Val Sklarov Insight:
“In Phase VII, institutions don’t break rules.
They worship them.”
3. Demythologization as a Legitimacy Safeguard
In Phase VII, legitimacy is protected by systematic demythologization.
| Demythologization Question | What It Restores |
|---|---|
| Which rule solved a past problem only? | Temporal clarity |
| Which belief is no longer testable? | Intellectual honesty |
| Which success story resists scrutiny? | Learning capacity |
| Which canon cannot be questioned? | Early warning signal |
Demythologization does not destroy canon.
It keeps it alive.
4. Myth Without Review: The Sacred Freeze
When myths harden:
-
Rules lose adaptive meaning
-
Deviations feel immoral
-
Innovation feels heretical
-
Reality is filtered out
This creates sacred rigidity, not stability.
5. The Phase VII Business Law
Val Sklarov Business Law (Phase VII):
“Canon that cannot be questioned
becomes myth that cannot survive.”
Phase VII organizations schedule doubt.
6. Reverence vs. Renewal
| Reverence Bias | Phase VII Requirement |
|---|---|
| Protect legacy | Re-test assumptions |
| Preserve purity | Re-contextualize rules |
| Silence dissent | Institutional skepticism |
| Fear dilution | Fear irrelevance |
Renewal requires irreverent honesty, not rebellion.
7. Phase VII Signals of Healthy vs. Dangerous Myth
| Signal | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Canon reviewed publicly | Healthy |
| Leaders invite rule challenges | Safe |
| “Because it’s canon” language | Danger |
| Emotional defense of rules | Decline risk |