One of the most expensive phrases in business:
"Let's give it another week."
Two teams disagree.
Everyone has made their case.
Everyone understands the tradeoffs.
Nobody is changing their mind.
But nobody wants to escalate.
Escalation is seen as failure.
A sign that the teams couldn't work it out themselves.
Or that they're bothering leadership.
So the discussion continues.
Another meeting.
Another attempt at consensus.
As time passes, something else happens.
The disagreement becomes personal.
A week becomes a month.
Good leaders hate this.
Not because teams disagree.
Because progress has stalled.
And a conversation that should have taken 15 minutes is now consuming weeks of energy.
The irony is that leaders don't see escalation as a burden.
They see it as their job.
Once the options are clear and the tradeoffs are understood, the goal is no longer consensus.
The goal is a decision.
What's your signal that a discussion has reached the point where it's time to escalate?