Why do bicycles, automobiles, blenders, and wind turbines have gears? Why not maintain the same mechanical ratio and remove numerous redundant parts?

A partial answer is that gears allow control over power and movement.

When we are working on a project and an individual requests that we shift gears, it implies that our efforts need to be recalibrated to another ratio. Perhaps we need to add more creativity, speed up, wrap up, abandon, try another way, seek help, change leadership…

Gears are magical when we use them to our advantage. When riding a bike in the French Alps, we might use the entire capacity of the rear cassette. Cruising across town on a greenbelt with a negative one-degree slope and a fixed-gear commuting bike is sufficient. Shifting gears is highly beneficial in mixed terrain and likely fine-tuning in static conditions.

How might we shift gears when it benefits our work but not allow the machine to control the operator?