Most people want a positive outcome without going through the steps that you need to take to get to that positive outcome.
You want to reach your ideal weight, be healthy, and have 10% body fat. But, you want to achieve that without taking the necessary steps of eating well, exercising, and doing it consistently.
Much the same is true if you want to influence public policy, legislation, and regulatory decisions.
Most people want the positive outcome of getting the decision that goes in their direction, the law on the books that backs their worldview, or public policy that supports them.
What they don’t want to do is to take the steps that you need to take to get that.
By that I mean, to do the necessary hard graft. Preparation, gathering the evidence, writing reports, drafting the ideal legislative text, reaching out to promote your agenda, having the many meetings needed to promote that case, having everything ready for when an opportunity, however surprising, comes up and stepping in when the policy windows comes up, and creating a public mood to allow it that policy ask to land.
For that reason, most of the time, you will fail to influence public policy, get the law on the book that you want, or secure a positive regulatory decision. Just like binge dieters, if you do not take the obvious steps, implement them consistently, you will not get what you want.