The Complex Plan

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

                         -Charles Darwin

We’re all human.  There are many times where we make plans and they fail miserably.  Not go wrong, but FAIL miserably.  Sometimes we know for sure that our plan will go a certain way.  We even work so hard at it and go through all the scenarios.  We work on it very intricately.  At the end of the day, why is there such a high chance that it will still go horribly wrong?

I won’t give too much of a run around here, but let me first explain that a plan is like a hypothesis.  It’s only a guess.  Until we have been in a certain scenario, we can’t get an accurate prediction from and for our actions towards the outcome.  If we do have experience in that certain situation, what happens? Our plans aren’t as thought out as they would be otherwise and we already know what to expect.  I’ll start off by giving a simple quote that most of you have probably heard of.  “Paralysis in analysis”.   Chances are, most of you have heard this term before.  The answer is simple if you just consider this rule of thumb when it comes to planning.  The more simple and direct a plan is, the less room there is for error; the more complex a plan is, the MORE room there is for error.  One thing to note is that there are way too many variables to account for when we make a general, detailed plan.  The more complex the plan is, the more unknown variables that are unaccounted for  enter the picture. 

I’ll give an example of this.  Say you’re going to do stand up for the first time.  Okay, you got your jokes down, this is your first time ever on stage………what to do………what to do…..Here’s a though process and a formation of a plan…. “I’ll get up on stage. I’ll go up from the right side and I’ll run up with a smile on my face” Now this is going smoothly in your imagination. “Next, I’ll make sure to comment on how shitty this place is and I’ll start off with the joke about the old lady crossing the street”.  Okay, this seems like a simple plan, right?  Well, let me throw in some unexpected variables.  You get up to go on stage and there is no right side, so you go up the left really awkwardly.  Then as you are going up, you get really nervous and tense up.  When you get to the top, the mic isn’t working so it takes a few minutes to get it running. Now it’s up and you awkwardly go right into your “old lady” joke.  

Let’s take a look at how much more smoothly a simpler plan would work.  “I’ll run out there, feel the audience and kill the show!” Now what do we have here?  We’re flexible.  Being fluid and non systematic gives you an opportunity to adapt and make best of whatever comes your way.  So you go out there, and seize the opportunity as it comes.  That way there isn’t room for error and it won’t throw you off balance.  So you fun up the left side of the stage, pick up the mic, it doesn’t work, you wait a minute and it comes on and now you make a joke about how poor their electrical work is and you’ll kick off the evening smoothly.

Go with the flow.  That’s the most important thing to remember here because when you do, you are the most flexible and adaptable.  If you come up with a complex plan and something goes wrong, it will hinder the rest of your plan.  Plans should be simple ideas, not intricate blue prints.  A plan is nothing more than a hypothesis.  Sometimes it works out, but just remember this rule of thumb.  Have a simple  plan, a general idea of what to do and just allow the details to fall into place as you move along with the plan.  You want to be fluid and adaptable, not stiff and robotic.  The most important thing is to be effective and being able to adapt to a situation is a really good quality to have when it comes to effectiveness.  “Expect the unexpected”? I say no…….Adapt to the unexpected.

This week’s challenge:  Call someone who you haven’t talked to in a really, really long time and make an effort to hang out with them.  It doesn’t sound too crazy of a challenge, but it is when it comes to comfort.