The trick is that not all of the complexity is protective politics -- some of the complexity is carefully created diplomatic language to keep together a coaliti

The trick is that not all of the complexity is protective politics -- some of the complexity is carefully created diplomatic language to keep together a coalition of cranky managers who managed to agree on _this very specific version of The Plan_. And unless you're savvy, it's difficult to tell which part is which, thus the problem OP is having.