Progressive Compromise Ladder
Protect non-negotiables while accepting partial progress that expands the next opening
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 96%
Singh rejects a simple rule that creators should wait until institutions allow them to work exactly as they want. In her account of minority storytelling, the current decision is often whether a project should remain unmade or proceed at roughly 70 percent of the creator's vision, potentially helping a later iteration reach 80, 90, and eventually 100 percent. The framework first defines the intended version and the lines that cannot be crossed, then examines the compromises demanded by funders, platforms, format, resources, and other stakeholders. A partial version qualifies only if it preserves meaningful value and plausibly expands the opening for future work. This is Singh's perspective from entertainment negotiations, not proof that every compromise produces progress; the causal path must be argued rather than assumed.
Origin
Singh explains the decision rule on The Diary of a CEO through her experience of negotiating minority storytelling with major entertainment platforms.
Core principles
- 01Waiting for complete control can prevent work from being made
- 02Compromise should be measured against explicit non-negotiables
- 03Partial representation can make later work easier to approve
- 04Progress can move in deliberate increments rather than one perfect leap
How to run it
- 1
Describe 100 percent
Write down the version you would make with full control, including the cultural, creative, or practical value it must preserve.
Pro tip Make the desired outcome specific enough to compare with a proposed compromise.
- 2
Set non-negotiables
Identify the elements that cannot change without making the work harmful, dishonest, or no longer worth doing.
Pro tip Keep this list shorter than the full preference list.
Watch out Do not call every preference a non-negotiable.
- 3
Map institutional constraints
Name the notes, resources, audience assumptions, timelines, and approval structures that are driving the requested compromise.
Pro tip Distinguish a true constraint from a convention that can still be challenged.
- 4
Score the surviving value
Estimate how much of the intended value remains and whether the result still crosses the minimum worthwhile threshold.
Pro tip Use the 70-to-100 ladder as a conversation aid, not an objective measurement.
Watch out A percentage does not excuse crossing a non-negotiable.
- 5
Test the next opening
Explain how making this version could improve the odds, resources, or freedom available to a later version.
Pro tip Name the specific precedent or evidence the project would create.
Watch out Do not assume that any visibility automatically produces future control.
- 6
Choose deliberately
Accept when the work remains worthwhile and opens a credible path, renegotiate when it does not, or walk away when a protected line is crossed.
In the wild
Singh describes meetings where decision-makers do not share her cultural background and may ask for explanations or changes she dislikes. She asks whether holding firm would leave the show unmade or whether a version at about 70 percent could create evidence for later stories to reach 80, 90, and 100 percent.
→ The compromise becomes an explicit progress decision rather than automatic surrender or automatic refusal.
Common mistakes
Waiting for perfect control
Singh argues that if every underrepresented creator waits for exact conditions, important work may never be made.
Calling every concession progress
A compromise needs surviving value and a credible next opening; compromise by itself is not evidence of progress.
Is it for you?
Best for
Creators and change-makers negotiating with institutions that control resources, approval, or distribution.
Not ideal for
Compromises that violate safety, ethics, or a clearly defined non-negotiable, or that offer no credible path to progress.
From the transcript
“is it better to hold my ground and have the show not be made”
“get it made seventy percent of the way i wanted to be made”
From the episode
Lilly Singh: My Deepest Insecurities Led To My Greatest Achievements