Ratchet Effect Flag

I've long remembered the above cartoon.

Once more tangentially reminded of it when talking someone through the Ratchet Effect.

Technically, it refers to when a direction is so set in train, it's almost impossible to stop.

On a bid, you can see this when what you propose is perceived to threaten how certain people, departments or fiefdoms operate. Despite - and this is crucial - what you bring aiming to provide betterment for the whole organisation.

I often look out for potential revanchists in this context ahead of time. Those who wish to reverse what we supply. The manoeuvres of these, seeking to recover lost territory or status but in this case to stave loss off beforehand, can be debilitating. As per the cartoon up-top. Completely counter to the direction of the business but no matter to them.

I also note with historical interest how the term revanchism emerged. When the French lost Alsace and Lorraine to what later became Germany in the late 19th century Franco-Prussian War. As in 'desire for revenge', which became a key cause of WW1.

There's also the classic anti-change steer;

"It is difficult to get a someone to understand something when their salary depends on them not understanding it".

From American novelist of the last century, Upton Sinclair.

Here when selling, this is about a new path that jeopardises the cushy lot of those for whom (via us) an adjustment looms.

Is the momentum of the current cog too strong to halt?

How fierce might resistance to stopping it be?

What value is being placed overall in its restraint?

You may also have felt this in the age-old force that is project creep.

Those amendments to any plan that appear to gently add in features and scope, yet prove harbingers of costs and delays.

I've had long discussion on this. With the most senior of buyers.

It seldom (if ever) ends well.

Those opposed can use such tactics to deaden impact.

Why do the bosses think this time, such creep'll be different for them?

Which can also be neat appeal for starting with a pilot style approach.

The selling point. Realise such people likely exist. They may well be powerful adversaries. You must flag their potential. They must be addressed. After all, if you cannot, your deal joy will either not materialise, or be short-lived. Both of which will lead to suffering we must avoid.