The more people on a piece of land, the higher its value. Newcomers pay a higher price than early settlers.
Similarly, grabbing the attention of busy people is costly because their attention is already stretched. When ethics and compliance professionals try to get employees’ attention, they are competing with many other voices who got there first, who bought beachfront property for cheap, and who are not willing to sell.
But this analogy eventually breaks down. Perhaps you can’t make more land or more attention, but you can create better ideas.
And better ideas move attention.
The Ethical Leader 