"A system that is stable in the short run may be unstable in the long run.
Drift is a chain of permission slips. In a migration that looks reversible until the data moves, each one is small, defensible, and easy to repeat.
In a migration that looks reversible until the data moves, everyone will focus on intent. The system only feels behavior. You see it in a retry policy change that turns one failure into a storm. A standard you cannot apply in one pass is not a standard; it is a preference disguised as governance. Keep it calm, concrete, and small; the goal is a move you can repeat, not a speech you can admire.
Jay W. Forrester is a reminder to audit the argument, not the intention. From six months ahead, name the failure and the excuse, then insist on one backstop. Keep it short enough to remember under stress.