Why Preparedness Wins in a Perma-Crisis World
Leadership today requires a bold recalibration. The traditional reliance on exhaustive strategic plans—linear, rigid, and often myopic—has lulled organizations into a dangerous comfort zone. Being planned is orderly and logical; it maps out a tidy roadmap. But when the inevitable chaos strikes, that roadmap is little more than a souvenir of what could have been. Being prepared, however, is dynamic, creative, and resilient—a strategy for thriving when the unthinkable happens.
Planned vs. Prepared: A Critical Leadership Distinction
The best-laid plans are systematically flawed because they assume a controllable future. In reality, the pace of disruption demands not just foresight, but flexibility. McKinsey’s research highlights this shift, describing today’s environment as a permacrisis—a prolonged period of instability that requires leaders to respond to challenges faster than ever before (McKinsey Global Institute). If you’re just planned, you’re vulnerable. Preparedness, on the other hand, builds agility. It’s about having options—Plan A, B, C, or Z—and the creative mindset to pivot between them seamlessly.
Prepared leaders ask the right questions in real time:
What’s happening now?
What’s possible with the resources I have?
Who can help me adapt?
This ability to connect the dots between unexpected variables is what fuels true resilience.
Kill the Company: The Preparedness Mindset
In 2012, at an offsite for a business unit with GE, the team was struggling with strategic planning. It was a tired, exhaustive ritual that hadn’t created bold moves or the results they needed. I was leading the session, and had to quickly pivot the group to better engage. So I challenged them to Kill their Company. Yes, literally. This provocative exercise forces teams to pinpoint vulnerabilities, imagine how competitors could outpace them, and dismantle the very systems they’ve built. Why? Because identifying weaknesses proactively makes you unshakeable.
The exercise was a huge success. It gave teams a structured approach to identifying business flaws, and fix them. It got teams to engage and voice concerns without fear or retaliation. It provided space to take an outside-in look at their business that they desperately needed. The result was hundreds of ideas on how to eliminate roadblocks, shore up issues, AND, create new advantages and turn them onto their competitors.
When teams fix their flaws before they become crises, they’re not just planning for the future—they’re preparing for it. This approach enables creative scenario planning, where strategies aren’t just locked into one predictable outcome. Instead, they flex with shifting realities.
Preparedness is Creativity in Action
Being prepared is less about having a plan and more about building adaptability into your DNA. It’s the art of aligning unrelated resources to meet unpredictable needs. It’s the discipline of thinking beyond the obvious. Preparedness unleashes a leader’s greatest asset—creativity—and turns it into a strategic advantage.
When your organization embraces preparedness, you’re not just reacting to change; you’re mastering it. So, go ahead—ditch the rigid roadmap. Design a future where your teams are ready for anything.