"Each pivot creates a new half completed system that a leader can declare victory and receive a promotion. The mess is left for the boots on the ground to deal with."

Boy do I know this well. Our last VP had this grand vision. While pushing the rest of the team to our launch date through crazy deadlines, he actually wasn't doing anything he said he was also doing, which was required to make the deadline.

We launched and handed a complete mess (to fix, which took months), and he quit a week later after receiving his six-figure bonus.

“Behind the scenes informal lines of communication between ICs often actually get the work done.” Well said — this has also been my experience on many “new opportunity projects.”

The difference between successful and failing teams has often been a good product manager. And that often means someone skilled at navigating the politics to ensure the team has runway to accomplish what it needs to. I’m not good at that work, but I’m grateful for those who do it.

Even when I’ve shipped an obviously good change, it can be bulldozed by political forces.

I don’t know how you get work done in a reasonably sized group of people without good political navigators.