Founder Vignette
The Party With Nothing to Gain Won't Move
Fix the economics of whoever controls the outcome.
A founder had evidence that his approach could improve an important process. The assumption was that once the incumbent administrator saw better results, cooperation would follow.
But the administrator controlled the process and had little economic reason to change it. Faster resolution did not help their position; it risked exposing the limits of the existing model.
The issue was not proof. The issue was incentives.
The work was to stop trying to persuade the party that did not benefit and instead design around the party that did. The buyer who gained from the improvement needed to define the engagement and set the terms before the incumbent could shape the process around its own economics.
The lesson was simple: results persuade the party that benefits from them. They rarely persuade the party whose position is weakened by them.
Method line
Fix the economics of whoever controls the outcome. If the controlling party gains nothing from change, more proof is unlikely to move them.