Stop Planning Everything And Be Spontaneous

In partnership with

Somebody said overplanning kills the magic. I couldn’t agree more. Don’t get me wrong, having a plan gets you in line, and helps you stay focused, disciplined, and organized. Nearly every stage of a business will require planning. You’d have plans on how to fund, market, advertise, or price your products. So yes, you can’t do without planning, not if you want to avoid surprises.

Known-unknown VS Unknown-Unknown

Former US defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld said;

Having an elaborate plan is great under predictable business conditions, aka Known-Unknowns. But it also creates a safety net and once you get used to that, you quickly lose your edge under unforeseen circumstances. In essence, It is easy to rely so much on planning that you do not know how to respond to an unpredictable situation, aka Unknown-Unknown. This is quite common in business. A new technology or a pandemic pops up, unanticipated, and changes the dynamics of the entire industry. The events that preceded the COVID-19 pandemic show how much the business environment can change in an instant. Businesses were forced to close overnight as the government issued policies to safeguard its citizens. Covid was the perfect example of an unknown-unknown.

Spontaneity - The antidote to Unknown-Unknown

In such situations, planning will only do you so much good. What you need is the ability to be spontaneous and adapt quickly. This is exactly what separated businesses that survived the pandemic from those that didn’t.

Adaptation is a skill entrepreneurs should acquire if they want to make the best use of a spontaneous situation. Just like in nature, entrepreneurs who can easily adapt to unforeseen circumstances will always find ways to succeed, regardless of the circumstance. And those who can’t adapt will fail. Planning is good for a stable and predictable business environment. However, in an unstable business environment, planning can become a snare that prevents spontaneous thinking.

Learn how to make AI work for you.

AI breakthroughs happen every day. But where do you learn to actually apply the tech to your work? Join The Rundown — the world’s largest AI newsletter read by over 600,000 early adopters staying ahead of the curve.

1. The Rundown’s expert research team spends all day learning what’s new in AI

2. They send you daily emails on impactful AI tools and how to apply it

3. You learn how to become 2x more productive by leveraging AI

Subscribe with one click.

Here are some examples of spontaneous business decisions that helped businesses survive the pandemic.

An alliance between distilleries/breweries and hand sanitizer manufacturers. At the height of the COVID pandemic, hand sanitizers were in high demand, on the flip side, distilleries and breweries were facing less and less demand by the day. To survive, some distilleries and breweries formed a business alliance with hand sanitizer manufacturers, providing them with excess alcohol. The extra income from the alcohol sales helped the businesses stay afloat until the stay-at-home order was lifted and business resumed as usual.

Fisheries avoided conventional sales channels and sold directly to customers. Restaurants, like many other businesses in the hospitality industry, were hugely affected by the pandemic. The real problem was the chain of effect this had on businesses that depended on the restaurants, such as farms and fisheries. To survive, the fisheries took their businesses directly to the customers, reaching them through unconventional channels like Facebook Market Place.

These two examples culled from the research by the Global Resilience Institute prove one important point. That is, entrepreneurs may not be fond of surprises and dealing with unknown unknowns, but such situations if handled properly often give birth to innovative ideas. Founders and entrepreneurs who founded companies that stand out are not new to spontaneous and out-of-box thinking.

Steve Jobs the connoisseur of spontaneity and creativity

While talking about his interview with Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson pointed out that Jobs designed the Pixar studio building to encourage spontaneous encounters and collaborations among employees. According to Jobs, “If a building doesn’t encourage that, you’ll lose a lot of innovation and the magic that is sparked by serendipity.”

Here are other ways being spontaneous can be good for you;

It can relieve you from the stress of overplanning and analysis paralysis

It can increase your risk appetite and help you build confidence

It makes things a bit lively and takes away the dullness of having a routine

You learn to let loose a bit and go with the flow

Practicing spontaneity helps sharpen your instincts or hunch

Aside from business, being spontaneous can be a great way to maintain a work-life balance.

Remember;

Become a regular reader of our newsletters to get our Mid-Week Decaf delivered straight to your inbox.

That’s all for now folks.

Until next time, stay inspired and keep chasing your dreams!

Cheers,

Alex