Erosion

Direction was not reversed, but it was diverted. 

Bold projects were neither abandoned nor rejected but instead were delayed. Memories eventually grew faint and the projects, which once had great promise, died at the hands of neglect. 

Urgency was replaced by bureaucracy. There were rules for rules for rules and you could exhaust yourself looking for exceptions. Leaders had a quiet and constant fear of running afoul of the enforcers for the enforcers were the only ones with unlimited budgets. As a result, they could wear you down.

In many quarters, comfort became a higher priority than excellence. Far higher.

All of this took place slowly.