Alignment Creep

Decisions accumulate alignment requirements that exceed what the decision actually needs. Each stakeholder consultation adds latency. Authority exists, but permission is continuously re-sought.

## Trigger Signals

• Stakeholder lists expand with each decision
• Alignment meetings multiply without resolution
• "Let's loop in one more person"
• Consultation requirements exceed decision complexity

## Why It Persists

Adding stakeholders distributes risk. If everyone aligned, no one is to blame. The cost of inclusion is invisible; the cost of exclusion is immediate.

## Common Misdiagnosis

• "We're being inclusive"
• "This is good governance"
• "We need buy-in"
• "Cross-functional alignment is important"

## Cost of Ignoring

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.

• Stakeholder lists expand with each decision
• Alignment meetings multiply without resolution
• "Let's loop in one more person"
• Consultation requirements exceed decision complexity

## Why It Persists

Adding stakeholders distributes risk. If everyone aligned, no one is to blame. The cost of inclusion is invisible; the cost of exclusion is immediate.

## Common Misdiagnosis

• "We're being inclusive"
• "This is good governance"
• "We need buy-in"
• "Cross-functional alignment is important"

## Cost of Ignoring

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.

Adding stakeholders distributes risk. If everyone aligned, no one is to blame. The cost of inclusion is invisible; the cost of exclusion is immediate.

## Common Misdiagnosis

• "We're being inclusive"
• "This is good governance"
• "We need buy-in"
• "Cross-functional alignment is important"

## Cost of Ignoring

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.

Decisions accumulate stakeholders beyond what the decision requires. Each consultation adds latency. Alignment becomes the goal rather than the means.

## What It Looks Like In the Wild

Decisions accumulate alignment requirements that exceed what the decision actually needs. Each stakeholder consultation adds latency. Authority exists, but permission is continuously re-sought.

## Trigger Signals

• Stakeholder lists expand with each decision
• Alignment meetings multiply without resolution
• "Let's loop in one more person"
• Consultation requirements exceed decision complexity

## Why It Persists

Adding stakeholders distributes risk. If everyone aligned, no one is to blame. The cost of inclusion is invisible; the cost of exclusion is immediate.

## Common Misdiagnosis

• "We're being inclusive"
• "This is good governance"
• "We need buy-in"
• "Cross-functional alignment is important"

## Cost of Ignoring

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.

• "We're being inclusive"
• "This is good governance"
• "We need buy-in"
• "Cross-functional alignment is important"

## Cost of Ignoring

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.

Decision velocity collapses. Simple choices become committee exercises. People with authority stop using it because consensus is expected.