Don't Plan Harder, Adapt Faster
Hi Reader
We've all had that sinking feeling. You’ve built a plan you believe in – clear, structured, logical. Then something unexpected happens.
A client changes their mind. A key person leaves. The numbers stop adding up. And suddenly, the plan that once gave you clarity now feels shaky and uncertain. Maybe it won't work at all.
Every plan meets unexpected moments. But when that happens, our instinct is often to look in the wrong place.
Don't Start Here
Moments like these trigger our reflex to plan harder.
We tell ourselves we got something wrong. We should have seen this coming. So we reopen the plan, add more detail, and try to design our way back to certainty. It feels reassuring – but no amount of planning can remove the unexpected.
The more time we spend perfecting the plan, the harder it becomes to change it. We start treating the plan as truth. We defend it, even when it no longer fits.
So if planning harder isn’t the answer, what is?
Strategy Has Two Parts
When things feel uncertain, it's useful to take a step back.
Strategy is simple, even though many overcomplicate it. It’s really made up of two parts:
- Vision – the strategic intent; the difference you want to make and why it matters.
- Plan – your best current hypothesis for how you’ll achieve that vision.
It’s the second part where most of us spend our time – refining, sequencing, and stress-testing. But a plan is only a working theory. Something to guide our action and learn from, not prove right.
Like any hypothesis, we need to stay alert to what’s reinforcing it and what’s challenging it. And when things inevitably shift, our job isn’t to protect the plan – it’s to pay attention. To notice what the work is teaching us and use that insight to adapt.
Which brings us to the loop that matters most.
A Strategic Learning Loop
When things stop going to plan and your strategy feels challenged, pause. Ask yourself three questions:
1/ Have we learned something that changes how we see our strategic vision?
You might have new insight that forces you to re-evaluate or refine the vision – and that’s fine. That’s part of the learning process. Our perspective often shifts as we move closer.
2/ Have we learned something that means the plan needs to change?
The destination’s still right, but the path isn’t working – and that’s OK too.
This is where you adapt the plan: adjust, test, and take the next meaningful step based on what you now know, instead of polishing a perfect roadmap.
3/ Is it simply taking more than we thought?
The vision and the plan are still right, but it’s taking more resilience, more resource, or more time.
This becomes about persistence – but not doggedness. Stay alert to signals that might shift again.
The best leaders and teams build this reflection into their regular rhythm. Adaptability, learning, and responsiveness become part of the work itself – not an exception to it
Keep It Moving
There’s no such thing as a perfect plan.
The work is to stay adaptive – to build the capacity to respond. Hold a steady vision and let the route evolve. And the tighter this loop becomes, the faster you’ll adapt.
This isn’t about abandoning planning. You still need to think ahead – to anticipate the steps, the risks, and the opportunities you’re likely to face. That helps you avoid predictable challenges and prepare for what’s next.
But it’s about having just enough of that planning, knowing you’ll learn far more from execution, iteration, and adaptation than you ever will from trying to perfect a plan before it starts.
So check:
Where are you searching for the perfect plan instead of responding to what's in front of you?
Because progress towards your strategic vision rarely comes from perfect planning. It comes from better adapting.
If you want help to shape your vision, pressure test your plan, or explore if there’s a better way through, I’ve got a handful of one-off strategy sessions available over the next few weeks.
We start with a free, no-pressure, 30-minute call to explore what would be most helpful. Book yours here.
Stay ambitious.
Rob
From 1:1 coaching through to strategic partnership, you’ll find clear options for creating results that last. Explore them at sparkedambition.co.uk
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Sparked Ambition Ltd | linkedin.com/in/robstubbs