It's interesting to think of this in conjunction with the Peter Principle. In any org that's existed long enough, you will have a "crust" of people who have bee

It's interesting to think of this in conjunction with the Peter Principle. In any org that's existed long enough, you will have a "crust" of people who have been promoted until they're too incompetent for their position. If long enough time elapses, these incumbents will account for most of the decision makers in the org chart, from the root on down. Given how incentives and motivations change with seniority, it's not a far stretch to assume that they will want to remain where they are - cannot be promoted any further, and would rather not lose current status. I know it's just a little thought exercise, but I see enough of that reflected in the real world to pause and consider. I would wager that in majority of cases, organizational structure does indeed remain static, at least in orgs that live on long enough timescales.