The Layers of Resistance
Why good ideas get refused
People do not resist change in one lump. They resist in a specific order, and they will not move to the next layer until the one they are standing on has been dealt with.
This is why sound proposals die in meetings. You answer an objection from layer four while the room is still sitting at layer one, and it reads as not listening. Work out which layer you are actually at before you say another word about your solution.
We do not agree there is a problem
“That is just how this industry works.”
They do not accept the problem exists, or they think it belongs to someone else. Arguing your solution here is wasted breath, because there is nothing yet for it to solve.
What to do: Lay out the effects and let them make the connection. Do not lead with the fix.
We do not agree on the direction
“Sure, that is a problem, but that is not the answer.”
The problem is accepted, your direction is not. Often because they can see a conflict in it that you have not addressed.
What to do: Surface the conflict openly. This is exactly what the Evaporating Cloud is for.
We do not believe it solves the problem
“That will help a bit, but it will not fix it.”
They accept the direction but doubt it goes far enough. Usually a gap between what you have described and the size of the problem they are feeling.
What to do: Show the causal chain from the change through to the effects disappearing.
Yes, but it will cause something worse
“And what happens when a rush job comes in?”
A specific negative consequence they can see and you have not. This one is a gift. The objection is nearly always real and worth designing around.
What to do: Write the objection down as a condition the plan must satisfy, then solve it with them.
We cannot see how to implement it
“In theory, yes. Not with what we have got.”
They agree entirely and still cannot see a path from here. Obstacles, sequence, and who does what.
What to do: Build the Prerequisite Tree together. Their obstacles, in their order.
Layer four is the one worth welcoming. Somebody telling you what will go wrong has thought about your idea harder than the people nodding along.
Stuck on it?
These are simple to draw and hard to fill in honestly. If you want a second pair of eyes on yours, that is a thirty minute conversation and it costs nothing.
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