In July, Professor Jim Heskett from Harvard Business School in an article in Working Knowledge, asked the question: “What’s the Downside of Adapting?”
He wrote, “Adaptability is a current byword in a world filled with uncertainty at all levels, including that of the individual. We adapt by listening to and heeding customers. We adapt by delegating authority, often to teams operating at the lowest levels of the organization. We adapt by tracking, responding to, and even encouraging the development of disruptive technologies.” He cited an author with a recent book on adapting, who argues that we need to substitute trial and error, experimentation for planning.
Professor Heskett then asked: “With so much advocacy for flexibility and adaptability, is it time for a contrarian view? In a complex and confusing world, aren’t those who appear to have the answers the ones we follow, for better or worse? Are we really at a tipping point of complexity in our world that it requires following only those willing to adapt?
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