The Golden Mean

A Plus... A... A Minus... B Minus... B... B Plus

You want to achieve A but you know that there are countervailing forces in favor of B. You don't favor A Plus nor do you favor A Minus and you certainly don't care for B or any of its versions.

If you advocate A alone, then the counter-forces will be powerful enough to drag the result into B territory; certainly into B Minus and perhaps even B itself.

So what is your strategy? Aristotle's. You advocate a position of A Plus (despite the fact that you don't fully favor it), knowing that during the debate or actual implementation the counter-forces will drag the results into A or, at worst, A Minus.

Such is the reasoning behind many policies and negotiations. Like a sea captain who adjusts the sails to the winds in order to stay on course, a manager who understands the effect of counter-forces will be far better to achieve the real goals. The manager who lacks that understanding and who simply advocates the favored position may ultimately be forced into very shallow waters indeed.