No battle plan survives contact with the enemy.

(Helmuth von Moltke the Elder). Or as Mike Tyson put it:  “𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻… 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲.”  

When I first heard this, it resonated.  

In big meetings, things move.
You have to adapt. Think on your feet.

But over time I’ve seen it misused.  
Not as insight… but as an excuse not to prepare.  

I still remember the first time I heard that excuse put forward.  I hated it!

Because I had strong conviction that the people who were best at adapting and “tap dancing" in meetings weren’t just winging it.  

They’d done the work.
They'd done their prep.

They’ve thought through scenarios.  
Pressure-tested their thinking.  
Played conversations out in advance.
Anticipated likely pushback.  
Clearly thought about where they would - and wouldn't - compromise.

And they'd learned from previous experiences.  
And their preparation had surfaced that learning.
  
That’s what gives them range in the moment.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻.

Adaptability isn’t the opposite of preparation.  
It’s the result of it.