The hard truth is that virtually all of the world is
outside our direct control. Our information about what is happening and possible
is limited.
In these dynamic environments, our most valuable resource is the
ability to take quick, decisive action. Competitive chaos creates unique
situations, which require unique responses.
Success in competitive environments does not come
from planning. In these chaotic
areas, a series of predetermined steps leading to a linear fashion to a predictable result is
impossible.
The is no pre-defined series of steps that will take a situation from its
raw state to a finished product.
Competitive plans collide, producing results that no one can plan. As
the saying goes in combat, our plans do not survive first contact with the
enemy. We have neither enough time or information to plan.
Instead of a linear process, we make adaptive decisions using a
feedback loop.
The loop starts with determining what our situation is. As we take actions, we
have to determine the effect of those actions before making our next move.
The goal of each cycle is to improve our situation, but we do not know the
direction in which we will move until we see what the situation offers. We call
this loop
the Progress Cycle or, more simply, listen-aim-move-claim. After
training, it becomes an automatic way of thinking about situations.
Developing our strategic reflexes starts with the humble acceptance
that competitive
environments are outside of our control. Any competitive arena—the marketplace, the job market,
or a sports arena—is defined by its complexity and unpredictability. We
can learn to navigate these environments but only by utilizing the quickly
shifting forces within them.
Competitive environments are both much larger and much more complex
than we can consciously understand. Many players are unknown. Individuals and groups behave in
unpredictable ways. Competitors actively mislead
each other about their plans. People often act on an impulse, reacting to
fast-changing conditions. The competitive environment is a puzzle that
reshapes itself continuously.
This environment has too much information. You don't have time to collect it all. If you did, it is too complicated
and fast-changing to coordinate in a systematic manner. Success depends upon
selecting the appropriate moves for the specific
situation in a limited time. It also demands creativity, finding
new moves that are made possible by the unique nature of the situation.
Our instant recognition of the key aspects of these situations
allows us to instantly tailor our responses.
Training allows us to know the type of the response required by
each aspect of the situation. We can mix aspects of our response
in just the right proportions to create something new.
Our trained adaptive reflexes unleash our human creativity in
bursts of instant insight.
Success demands an understanding of competitive situations
that becomes intuitive and reflexive.
That level of understanding generates flashes of insight and inspiration.
You
cannot plan on insight,
but where does it come from? Read on...
In
dynamic,
external environments, most of what happens isn't planned. There is, at once, too much
and too little information. While there is a flood of detailed data, specific
information about the future is limited
(