What the author is describing is known as "friction" or the "fog of war" has first expounded by Clausewitz. Everything is simple and straight-forward when you

What the author is describing is known as "friction" or the "fog of war" has first expounded by Clausewitz. Everything is simple and straight-forward when you are dealing with your immediate team of a few people. The same task is extraordinarily difficult when you have to collaborate outside of your team, or have someone actively opposing you or trying to deceive you. You are also assuming the "people" will behave in a certain way. Your company can treat front line workers like robots and must follow a certain script. Or you company can treat front line workers like independent thinkers and empower them to make limited decisions. IMO. None of this really matters. What matters is correctly diagnosing the problem in the first place. And correctly diagnosing the capabilities of your tools and your employees. Once you have an accurate picture of the problem, the solution will come readily. The problem is no one wants to admit their short comings or limitations. They will always say they can do everything you ask of them. Then you tell them about the budget and limited time frame. And they still say they can do everything. What we need is productive candor.