Also pretty critically it moves the reckoning past the Q4/Q1 boundary, where annual budgets and performance reviews are being decided. That could be the differ

Also pretty critically it moves the reckoning past the Q4/Q1 boundary, where annual budgets and performance reviews are being decided. That could be the difference between layoffs vs. hiring in your department, between departures vs. high morale, or between re-orgs vs. continued productivity. If you can fake it for an extra couple weeks, it might mean getting another year of continued funding, and with an extra year of continued funding you might just deliver what you originally promised.