If there’s one thing I’ve learned in business, cooking, and life—it’s that plans rarely survive first contact with reality.
From leading digital transformation projects to running a kitchen, I’ve seen meticulously crafted plans crumble under unforeseen circumstances. The key isn’t to plan harder but to plan smarter: building agility into the process so that unexpected changes don’t derail progress.
Why Rigid Plans Fail
Many plans fail not because they’re poorly designed but because they assume a level of predictability that doesn’t exist. Here are the biggest reasons why rigid planning can backfire:
- Over-Optimism Bias – We assume things will go smoothly and underestimate risks.
- Lack of Contingency Planning – Many plans don’t account for alternative scenarios.
- Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset – Viewing changes as failures instead of opportunities stifles progress.
I’ve worked on more than one project where the client insisted on a highly detailed roadmap with no flexibility. When unexpected market changes hit, the rigid plan collapsed, requiring a complete overhaul. That experience taught me that agility beats perfection every time.
Mise en Place: Planning Without Rigidity
In the culinary world, mise en place—the practice of preparing ingredients and tools before cooking—ensures efficiency and adaptability. The same principle applies to business and life. In a business setting, establishing clear procedures and allocating resources in advance reduces wasted time and effort. Within project management, keeping essential elements prepared while allowing flexibility helps teams respond to changes without chaos. In daily life, organizing tasks and materials beforehand prevents unnecessary scrambling when things don’t go as expected.
Mise en place doesn’t mean rigid adherence to a plan—it means having a foundation that allows for quick, effective adjustments.
How to Plan with Agility
Agile planning isn’t about abandoning structure—it’s about building flexibility into your framework. Here’s how you can do it:
1. Scenario Thinking: Plan for Multiple Outcomes
Instead of betting on one outcome, consider multiple scenarios and prepare responses for each. This approach is common in financial forecasting but works in all areas of planning.
Example: When launching a product, have strategies for different market responses—enthusiastic adoption, moderate interest, or low traction—so you can adapt quickly.
2. The 70% Rule: Act Before Perfection
Jeff Bezos and military strategists alike recommend making decisions when you have 70% of the information—waiting for 100% certainty leads to paralysis.
Lesson: If you wait for all the data, opportunities pass you by. Instead, gather enough insight to make an informed move, then iterate based on feedback.
3. The OODA Loop: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act
Originally a military strategy, this cycle helps you continuously adapt by:
- Observing the situation
- Orienting based on new information
- Deciding on a course of action
- Acting quickly and iterating
This framework allows for constant course correction, preventing you from getting stuck in outdated plans. The process repeats rapidly, and those who can cycle through the OODA loop faster and more effectively have a significant advantage. Imagine a tennis match:
- Observe: The opponent serves the ball.
- Orient: You assess the ball’s trajectory, speed, and spin.
- Decide: You choose your return shot – a forehand, backhand, lob, etc.
- Act: You execute the shot.
The process then repeats instantly as you observe your opponent’s response, orient yourself to their position and shot, decide on your next move, and act. The faster you can complete this loop, the more effectively you will play.
Lessons from the Kitchen: Adapting on the Fly
In a professional kitchen, adaptability is a survival skill. Suppliers fail to deliver, ingredients run out, orders pile up. A rigid plan breaks; a flexible chef adjusts, substitutes, and reworks dishes without missing a beat.
Similarly, in business, those who succeed aren’t the ones with the most detailed plans but those who can pivot quickly when circumstances change.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid in Agile Planning
- Over-Reliance on Gut Feeling: While intuition is valuable, it must be backed by data and experience.
- Ignoring Feedback: Regularly reassessing and iterating plans is crucial—ignoring new information leads to stagnation.
- Confusing Agility with Lack of Structure: Agile planning isn’t about winging it; it’s about structured adaptability.
Actionable Steps for Agile Planning
- Embrace Scenario Planning: Always have backup strategies.
- Apply the 70% Rule: Act when you have enough information, not when you have it all.
- Use the OODA Loop: Keep evaluating and adjusting in real time.
- Implement Mise en Place Thinking: Prepare essentials but remain flexible.
- Review & Adapt: Set regular check-ins to reassess plans based on new insights.
Mastering Adaptability
The world is unpredictable, but with the right mindset and planning approach, you can stay ahead of the curve. Whether in business, cooking, or life—adaptability is the ultimate competitive advantage.
When things don’t go as planned, don’t panic—pivot. The most successful people aren’t those with perfect plans, but those who know how to make the best of any situation.