" Gradations are possible, and the way you achieve them is by strategically choosing the terms of engagement."
In my experience, you are simply wrong.
You don't get to actually make this happen. You may want it to happen, and i agree it would be very nice. But it is also unrealistic, in the same way lots of polarizing things are but shouldn't be.
So you may not like that dichotomy, but in my experience, it is the practical effect.
I'd love to see your examples of projects that are both fairly successful and choose somewhere along the gradient you have in mind.
" Gradations are possible, and the way you achieve them is by strategically choosing the terms of engagement."
In my experience, you are simply wrong. You don't get to actually make this happen. You may want it to happen, and i agree it would be very nice. But it is also unrealistic, in the same way lots of polarizing things are but shouldn't be. So you may not like that dichotomy, but in my experience, it is the practical effect.
I'd love to see your examples of projects that are both fairly successful and choose somewhere along the gradient you have in mind.