Muller's Ratchet
TL;DR
Deleterious mutations accumulate irreversibly in asexual populations - technical debt, process decay, and organizational dysfunction compound one-directionally without the 'recombination' of external input.
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Species with small populations accumulate slightly deleterious mutations because drift overpowers the weak selection against them. This is called Muller's ratchet: deleterious mutations accumulate irreversibly in small populations, like a ratchet that can only turn in one direction.
Business Application of Muller's Ratchet
Small organizations may accumulate suboptimal practices because random sampling prevents weak selection from eliminating them. Bad habits 'ratchet' in one direction, becoming harder to reverse as they compound.