One of the most common questions I’m asked in a strategy process – usually toward the end – is about what to do when things change.

Because, they do, don’t they? Despite our best efforts, our environment doesn’t stand still. Sometimes these changes are small, and manageable. Other times, they’re not. Other times, they're changes that trigger potentially cataclysmic shifts in our understanding of the world. 

Saying yes to something new is exhilarating – full of possibility. We dream of a new future, unencumbered by the things about our current state that make progress a challenge. 

However, the uncomfortable and non-negotiable consequence of saying yes it the inevitable no. Saying yes is a temporary, one-off moment. But what it kicks off is a longer, fractured reality of saying no, letting go and moving forward, triggering all the inevitable loss, confrontation and tricky choices needed to get there.