Availability is a derivative
Nobody announces how available they are. The other party derives it from the position that was stated and the action that followed, which is why a cost said out loud can sit in a room for months and move nothing
loyalty
Meaning
A state of continued affiliation and commitment to an organization, arrangement, or relationship, often sustained despite perceived decline in performance or value, as described in the Exit, Voice, and Loyalty model. Loyalty can stem from an expectation of future improvement, an intrinsic valuation of the relationship, or the high cost of switching. It serves as a deferral of immediate exit or explicit voice, allowing time for potential recovery or adjustment.
Endurance Mechanism
Loyalty allows an arrangement to withstand periods of reduced performance or temporary dissatisfaction without immediate disruption. A client who continues to use a founder’s product despite a recent bug, expecting it to be fixed, demonstrates loyalty. This enduring commitment provides stability to the founder, offering a buffer against immediate adverse reactions to minor setbacks.
It enables a founder to address issues without facing immediate loss of resources.
Conditional Commitment
While seemingly passive, loyalty often carries implicit conditions or thresholds. A loyal partner may tolerate a certain level of suboptimal performance, but if the decline persists or deepens beyond a specific point, their loyalty may convert into voice or exit. Founders must understand that loyalty is not indefinite; it is a temporary condition that provides an opportunity to improve the situation before stronger feedback mechanisms are activated.
This commitment is based on a set of unspoken terms.
Behavioral Inertia
Loyalty can also result from behavioral inertia, where the cost of exiting or voicing concerns outweighs the perceived benefit of doing so, at least for a period. This inertia reduces the immediate energy cost for the loyal party but may obscure the true state of dissatisfaction from the founder. A founder might misinterpret continued engagement as full satisfaction, overlooking underlying issues that could lead to a sudden, unannounced exit later.
The absence of explicit feedback can become a hidden cost, making corrective action more difficult.