Avoid middle ground
Middle ground is the place where nothing happens, nobody wins, and noone is happy.
I’ve often heard it suggested that, when faced with two options, it is preferrable to iterate toward some “middle ground” — usually from the end justifies the means crowd.
Reaching for a “middle ground” by default is how you get all-round discontent, dissolved responsibility, and a royally screwed outcome.
A melting pot of options quickly turns into a lump of coal.
The reason is simple: an option that comes to the surface is the result of complex systems. They have their own assumptions and principles and the trade-off /ˈtreɪdˌɔf/ TRAYD-awf A choice where you give up one thing to get another. Every option has a cost, even when nobody names it. Read the article → are unknown when cross-polinated with other ideas.
To make a responsible decision, it must be extracted by first principles /ˌfɜrst ˈprɪnsəpəlz/ furst PRIN-sə-pəlz Basic truths that do not come from other assumptions. You reason up from them instead of copying what others do.. Assign the responsible party and let them follow through — they will then have the full context to make the best decisions possible.
It’s thrilling to come to a conclusion and later discover there is a theory or principle behind it.