"I've found that in business opportunities will constantly emerge or situations develop that make you revise your plans along the way"
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Business rarely unfolds as a straight line; it behaves more like open water, where currents of opportunity and unexpected weather force a navigator to adjust course. The point is not to abandon the destination but to revise the chart as reality reveals itself. Opportunities emerge that you did not model, and constraints surface that were invisible from the dock. Treating plans as living documents rather than sacred texts separates resilient operators from rigid ones.
Good planning sets direction and guardrails, but reality supplies the details. New technology, a surprising customer segment, or a timely partnership can warrant a swift reallocation of resources. Conversely, a supply disruption, a regulatory shift, or a competitor’s move may require trimming sails to survive the headwinds. Strategy becomes a dialogue between intention and circumstance, what scholars call the interplay of deliberate and emergent strategy.
The practical skill is disciplined adaptability. Define a clear mission and a few nonnegotiable principles, then build modular plans that can be reconfigured without collapsing the whole. Design feedback loops that move fast enough to catch weak signals before they become crises. Set explicit trigger points for change to counter the sunk-cost fallacy. Keep optionality by avoiding irreversible bets until the evidence compels them.
Culturally, this mindset rests on humility and curiosity. Leaders must normalize plan revisions as signs of learning, not failure, so teams surface inconvenient data early. Reward people for testing assumptions, not just for defending them. Over time, a company that learns faster compounds advantages, turning volatility into a source of strength rather than a threat.
The wisdom here is steady and unsentimental: make the best plan you can, then edit it relentlessly. Success favors those who can hold a clear destination while letting new information reshape the route, treating change not as an interruption but as a collaborator.
Good planning sets direction and guardrails, but reality supplies the details. New technology, a surprising customer segment, or a timely partnership can warrant a swift reallocation of resources. Conversely, a supply disruption, a regulatory shift, or a competitor’s move may require trimming sails to survive the headwinds. Strategy becomes a dialogue between intention and circumstance, what scholars call the interplay of deliberate and emergent strategy.
The practical skill is disciplined adaptability. Define a clear mission and a few nonnegotiable principles, then build modular plans that can be reconfigured without collapsing the whole. Design feedback loops that move fast enough to catch weak signals before they become crises. Set explicit trigger points for change to counter the sunk-cost fallacy. Keep optionality by avoiding irreversible bets until the evidence compels them.
Culturally, this mindset rests on humility and curiosity. Leaders must normalize plan revisions as signs of learning, not failure, so teams surface inconvenient data early. Reward people for testing assumptions, not just for defending them. Over time, a company that learns faster compounds advantages, turning volatility into a source of strength rather than a threat.
The wisdom here is steady and unsentimental: make the best plan you can, then edit it relentlessly. Success favors those who can hold a clear destination while letting new information reshape the route, treating change not as an interruption but as a collaborator.
Quote Details
| Topic | Business |
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