“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” is a truistic statement. Planning involves setting a goal or determining a destination, taking into consideration constraints as well as opportunities and how to overcome, manage or capitalise on these along the way as the need may be. Planning is very important in view of the fact that as humans we are unable to exactly forecast the future. Failing to plan, then, would mean that one has not prepared himself/herself to deal with probable difficulties or challenges that may arise in future. In that case, when those difficulties rear their ugly heads, the one who hasn’t planned is caught pants-down. Not knowing the way out, he/she easily gives up on the way. On the other hand, uncertainties also include opportunities that we are unable to figure out presently. They come up as a result of a series of events and activities that we engage in. Some call it luck, but they’re not; such opportunities do not happen in a vacuum or by chance. They are the by-product of efforts not immediately recognised as useful but which actually are. Hence, planning to be able to take advantage of opportunities that emerge unexpectedly is also very, very important. Otherwise, if not properly managed, such opportunities will slip by and never come again In the technological world, and given the trend of globalisation on a hitherto unprecedented scale, changes happen by the second; some positive, others negative. Maybe the negative ones are even more. Yet an astute planner could even see opportunities in those negativities. As in Georg Hegel’s dialectics of theses and antitheses interacting to form synthesis, in a volatile world, the strategic planner needs to know how to integrate what he sees as negative and positive by analysing both sides of each in order to arrive at the right outcome. In other words, see some good in every misfortune and don’t take every fortune at face-value. To do this effectively requires formulating and implementing a fluid strategy that is flexible and dynamic to accommodate abrupt changes. In this piece we will be considering what a fluid strategy is, including its qualities or features. In subsequent series of the subject we will look at how to formulate a fluid strategic plan and how to implement such a strategy effectively. What is a Fluid Strategy? Basically, we need to understand what a fluid is. Then we can be able to better appreciate what forms a fluid strategy should take. I found this great definition in the Concise Oxford Dictionary: “fluid: a substance that has no fixed shape and yields easily to external pressure; a gas or (especially) a liquid. Adj.1 - able to flow easily….3 - not settled or stable....4 - smoothly elegant or graceful.” Let’s now take these properties one by one and analyse. “Has no fixed shape”: both water and gas have no fixed shape. Thus they assume the shape of whatever container or receptacle they find themselves in. That is one quality of a fluid strategy. A fluid strategy does not assume; rather, it recognises that the environment can change at any time. Hence, the strategy designs the organisation in such a way that it is adaptable to whatever situation that may arise. In an economic turmoil, one of the first things that organisations think about as a solution is laying-off labour — and no wonder they are labour to those organisations. But if those organisations respected their employees more and treated them more as partners than cogs in a machine, they might just realise that those they would have laid-off are the same people who would have helped the organisation to regain its composure. A fluid strategy, thus, does not assume that employees are dumb stooges. It recognises the great talent in these and their qualities of resilience and persistence, factors that are needed to define the organisation to give it character and make it survive -- for an organisation is as good as its employees. However, to succeed in doing so, the organisation should not have or maintain a fixed shape. It has to be amoebic in nature. That is how its potential can be adequately tapped. Thus, a fluid strategy accepts whatever circumstances it finds itself in and makes the necessary adjustments needed to survive. “Yields easily to external pressure”: It is very easy to view this characteristic as a weakness. But to enable us appreciate this quality better, let’s compare women to men: Why do most wives survive their husbands even though they are said to be weaker? When women are faced with challenges, they generally hardly ever look for quick-fixes. Lucky Philip Dube put it this way in his track “God Bless the Women”: “They do not run from many things; they stand and fight for what is right. They do not run from responsibility; they stand and fight for what is right.” Like a flexible tree that bends over and twists and turns in a storm but survives, they take some time to cry, wail, confide in, consult and thus freely express their emotions. In so doing, they free their spirits and that gives them a better picture and the energy to continue. On the other hand, men, considered to be the stronger gender, will pretend to be strong and cap everything inside of them. Like a rigid tree, they are not able to survive the storm. Before long, they give in to some cardio-vascular break-down and the like. If they don’t die, they end up bed-ridden. Strong indeed! Being yielding to external pressure is thus not negative. A definition in the Concise Oxford Dictionary has it as “give way to demands or pressure; submit. Relinquish possession of. Concede (a point of dispute).” There comes a point in life when you just have to change strategy by submitting. In that case, submission itself becomes a strategy that one can exploit to his advantage. If only the late Colonel Gadaffi had recognised this fact! Compare that to Nelson Mandela. Although his stepping-down as president was not a result of pressure, eventually he would have had to concede to the constitutional provision anyway. Taking a bow earlier, though, made him a hero. A marvellous strategy indeed! For as Former President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria was quoted as saying on BBC radio last week, the smartest thing is to leave the scene while the ovation is still high. Maybe President Abdoulaye Wade should be learning from that. In a similar fashion, a fluid-strategic organisation knows when to give up on outmoded business principles and practices and adopt new ones that are more in tune with modern exigencies and realities. A strong, rigid organisation that wants to stick to the old ways of doing things and yet expects better results will break down in the storm, as it were, and fold-up while seemingly weak and supple ones survive. “Able to flow easily”: To flow is to “move steadily and continuously in a current or stream…. (of the sea or a tidal river) move towards the land; rise… (of a solid) undergo a permanent change of shape under stress, without melting.” (The Concise Oxford Dictionary) An organisation with a fluid strategy flows towards “land”, i.e. safety. It rises above all obstacles that come its way. It is patient and so moves steadily with firm conviction. Certainly, that is no weakness — it is bravery. Of special interest to me though is that last phrase: “… (of a solid) undergo a permanent change of shape under stress, without melting.” This attests to my earlier postulation that being yielding does not mean weakness. Solids are strong. Yet, as in this definition, a solid can undergo a permanent change of shape under stress without melting. For example, when steel is red-hot, the steelworker -- say a blacksmith -- can, with the aid of his hammer and anvil, change that steel into a cutlass, a hoe, a key or whatever. Yet all this happens without the steel melting. Similarly, a fluid organisation under the hammer and anvil of volatility and other dynamics can change into any form and still remain in good business. In formulating such a strategy, the organisation, while resolute in its mission, makes room for necessary changes that are currently unforeseen. When such occurrences happen, then the organisation is not taken unawares. Immediately, but without rushing, an alternative plan is put in motion. This may even mean changing the whole structure of the organisation and even its operations. In that case, employees still get to keep their jobs, invariably, and the fortunes of the company are not unduly affected adversely. This ties in quite well with the next point: “Not settled or stable”: they say “A rolling stone gathers no moss”. True. But were stones made to roll? Certainly not! So, naturally, the moss belongs there. In contrast, humans -- and by extension human institutions -- should constantly be on the move. An institution or a business organisation that does not roll will surely gather moss and become a monument for decoration and nothing more. And just as stagnant (settled) water gets stale and gives out a bad stench, a settled organisation grows moss that makes it green, thus appearing beautiful but slippery -- and eventually it begins to stink. In formulating a strategy then, it is wiser when it’s fluid and adapts to changing circumstances and needs. This will keep the organisation fresh all the time and healthy at 21 without the pathological disorders of old age. A fluid organisation does not rest on its oars and is not satisfied with the status quo. A fluid strategy recognises that the sky is the beginning, not the limit. Thus it strives to achieve continuous improvements in its practices and processes. It also doesn’t rely on just a few products and services, burying its fortunes in specialisation. It is rather versatile and highly diversified. Just as a diversified economy does better, a diversified organisation does not just thrive -- it grows in leaps and bounds. Don’t get settled! “Smoothly elegant or graceful”: Put simply, this is the outcome of a fluid strategy. It makes the organisation elegant and graceful. Elegance means being “pleasingly graceful and stylish”. Who can contend that such is the hallmark of a great organisation? Ingenuity is also at the core of strategy, being integral to creativity and innovation; critical factors for business. A fluid strategy thus constantly creates and innovates. And yet it does all this in a simple manner, not cluttering itself with unnecessary bureaucracy that stifles imagination and initiative. Decisions do not go through a pipeline which can choke or be blocked. Rather, they go through waves and rays, as it were, and flow at will to meet their intended purpose. Being simple also makes the organisation easier to deal with by its external publics such as suppliers and customers. And this can be equated with gracefulness. There is every reason, then, why your strategy should be fluid. However, there is also a down-side! If not properly handled, a fluid strategy can easily get out of hand. But that can be ameliorated if complacency does not set in and individual responsibility is not thrown to the winds. I hope you enjoyed this article and will not miss the next in the series Formulating and Implementing a Fluid Strategy. Let’s make it a date. Cheers!