Inflict harms all at once so they are quickly forgotten, and distribute benefits gradually so they are continually felt.
Machiavelli's 1532 advice, and it is straightforwardly about attention: harms concentrated in time are experienced once, benefits spread over time are experienced repeatedly. New management applies it constantly.
In practice
- A landlord who raises the rent once by a large amount is resented for a month; one who raises it slightly every quarter is resented every quarter.
- A new chief executive announces all the closures in week three and phases the investments over three years, and both halves are deliberate.