The Avalanche.
It usually begins with something very small.
A person refuses to sign a paper.
“Why is it necessary?”
Another person has a perfectly simple task to complete. A KYC update. A bank requirement. A registration. A compliance form. Something that would have taken five minutes if everybody involved simply did what they were supposed to do.
But no.
The paper remains unsigned.
The first person walks away.
And somewhere, the avalanche begins.
At first, it is only one inconvenience.
The application cannot proceed.
“Please submit the required document.”
Fine.
The document is requested.
The person who was supposed to provide it is busy. Or uninterested. Or suspicious. Or has suddenly developed a philosophical objection to paperwork.
“Why do they need all this?”
Good question.
Nobody knows.
Meanwhile, the application is still pending.
Then a deadline passes.
Now another document has expired.
The bank asks for an updated version.
The updated version requires another signature.
Someone else has to travel and has to take leave from work.
Please explain the whole story to three people who had nothing to do with the original issue.
The first person?
Still wondering why everyone is making such a fuss.
Sometimes it begins much earlier.
A parent is bound by some strange fear.
“No. Don’t change it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I don’t feel it is right.”
That is all.
A decision has been made.
Years later, their child is trying to untangle property records, bank procedures, identity documents, nominations, legal requirements and administrative complications that could have been avoided with one ordinary decision made at the right time.
The parent may not even be around when the avalanche finally reaches the valley.
But somebody is still standing there with a file in one hand and a headache in the other.
Then there are spouses.
Ah.
A beautiful category.
One spouse refuses to cooperate because their ego has been mildly scratched.
They will not sign.
They will not attend.
They will not provide the document.
They will not discuss it.
They will, however, be deeply offended that anyone asked.
So they walk away.
Years later, the other person is making calls.
Meeting lawyers.
Answering notices.
Explaining discrepancies.
Finding old records.
Paying penalties.
Losing opportunities.
And occasionally sitting alone, staring at a wall, wondering how the hell one person’s ego became another person’s full-time administrative career.
The ego-struck spouse has moved on.
Possibly to dinner.
Then comes the businessman.
He has money, cars, offices, and employees.
He has people carrying files around for him.
But ask him for one basic document.
One necessary formality, a piece of information.
And suddenly:
“Why is all this required?”
Because, sir, civilisation invented systems.
You cannot simply point at a building and say, “That is mine,” while every bank, government department and organisation asks, “Excellent. Please show us the papers.”
But he does not understand.
Or does not want to.
Or assumes someone else will somehow manage.
And someone else does.
That is the problem.
Because once people discover that their refusal creates extra work for somebody more competent, they can remain magnificently incompetent forever.
The lazy ones are even more fascinating.
They do not disagree or fight.
They simply do nothing.
“Okay, I’ll do it.”
Three months later:
“Did you do it?”
“Ah. No.”
Another month passes.
“Did you call?”
“I was going to.”
The whole situation now becomes urgent.
The competent person starts running.
The lazy person watches.
And when everything is finally fixed, often through somebody else’s panic, effort, money and loss of sleep, the lazy fellow says:
“See? It got done.”
Yes.
By whom, you magnificent potato?
And then there are the greedy brutes.
These are more efficient.
They understand everything perfectly.
They simply calculate that if they refuse to cooperate, somebody else will eventually become desperate enough to pay, surrender, compromise or absorb the loss.
So they wait.
They create a bottleneck.
Someone else is standing with an urgent transaction, a deadline, a family problem, a business issue or a legal requirement.
The greedy brute has time.
The other person does not.
And suddenly a simple requirement becomes a negotiation.
The avalanche is now monetised.
What is remarkable is that the person who starts all this often carries none of the avalanche.
They make one decision.
Or refuse one action.
Or avoid one responsibility.
Then they go back to their life.
They sleep, eat, make merry, watch television.
They travel, attend weddings, post photographs.
They complain about the weather, the neighbour, the cook, the maid, or the spouse.
Meanwhile, somewhere else, one small pebble has become:
A failed application.
A missed deadline.
An expired document.
A financial loss.
A legal complication.
A family argument.
A business delay.
Five phone calls.
Twelve follow-ups.
Three visits.
Two new forms.
One lawyer.
And a person with a headache wondering why their life is full of problems.
The answer, occasionally, is beautifully simple.
Because some idiot refused to do one basic thing three years ago.
That is how avalanches work.
Not every avalanche begins with a dramatic explosion.
Sometimes somebody merely says:
“I’ll do it later.”
And walks away.
Suggested Reading: Society’s Oldest Startup