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Why does escalation feel slower than the problem itself?
Published: 17 Jan 2026 · Category: Operations
Co-Founder Taliferro
Published: 17 Jan 2026 · Category: Operations
Co-Founder Taliferro
Escalation exists for one reason: to move work faster when the stakes rise. This pattern shows up alongside issues like meeting overload and disconnected data.
So when escalation feels slower than the problem, something fundamental is broken.
In theory, escalation should do three things:
In practice, escalation often does the opposite.
Most organizations still treat escalation as a conversation instead of a mechanism.
Here’s the pattern:
By the time a decision lands, the situation has already changed.
Escalation only works when authority is pre-assigned.
If people have to ask:
Then escalation becomes cautious instead of fast.
Middle managers feel this first.
They’re accountable for outcomes, but escalation paths are vague. So they hesitate. They verify. They double-check.
“I don’t want to escalate too early — but I don’t want to be late either.”
That hesitation isn’t personal weakness. It’s a system design flaw.
Problems move continuously. Escalation moves in steps.
Each step adds delay:
The problem never pauses while escalation catches up.
Fast escalation doesn’t rely on judgment in the moment. It relies on rules decided in advance.
When escalation depends on:
It will always be slower than the problem.
When escalation is built into the system, speed returns naturally.
Escalation feels slow when it’s treated as an exception.
The organizations that move fastest treat escalation as part of normal execution — not a special event that requires permission.
If escalation feels heavier than the problem itself, the system is asking people to compensate for missing structure.
That’s not a people problem. It’s a design problem.
When escalation depends on people instead of structure, delay is guaranteed.
Because it’s often handled manually. People rebuild context, seek permission, and wait for alignment instead of triggering predefined actions.
No. Meetings are a fallback when escalation rules and ownership are unclear.
A Business Momentum System is designed to keep work moving. It handles follow-ups, handoffs, next actions, and escalation before information reaches a CRM or reporting layer.
TODD is our Business Momentum System. It turns escalation into system behavior instead of manual coordination.
No. Most teams keep their core tools and add a momentum layer that carries ownership and decisions forward.
Tyrone Showers
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