20.08.2025

Forget The Plan But Not Planning | Agile | Awaken Your Genius

Hello there! Welcome to my weekly LEAPS. 

You’re receiving this email because you subscribed to my weekly Wednesday feature or our mailing list. Every Wednesday, I share 5 things using our LEAPS approach: 

Learn: something new or an idea
Energy: an energy (good or bad) word and it’s meaning
Action: something to do
Processing: a question to consider
Shout out: something or someone that I want to celebrate or acknowledge

LEARN
Something Worth Sharing

Forget The Plan But Not Planning

I’ve been thinking recently about a few of the incredible things I’ve managed to somehow achieve in life - along with the many challenging and painful experiences that came with them. If I’m honest, none of these things were anything I could have predicted, let alone planned for. I came across a brilliant quote that beautifully summed this up:

“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”

- Dwight D Eisenhower

The reality is that when we plan, we do so with the knowledge and experiences we’ve accumulated up to that point. The uncertainty of the future and all that it holds means that it is almost impossible to really have a plan that will be applicable. This doesn’t mean that it isn’t important to have goals and a vision, it just means that the gap between now and the future needs to be embraced with an open mind!

The value of planning lies in the preparation it provides as well as: 

• Thinking creatively and critically

• Developing self, team and situational awareness

• Building confidence

• Improving adaptability and resilience

• Team dynamics and alignment

ENERGY
Focusing on an emotion or energy; a stand-out word / s

Agile

I love the word ‘agile’. It seems to fit well with the learn above.

It means "having the quickness of motion, nimble, active" (of body or mind), and originated from Latin AGERE meaning "to set in motion, keep in movement".

PROCESSING
A question to think about and consider (you can discuss this with someone or write your thoughts down)

“In what ways - and with what - do you need to be more skeptically curious?”

I was reading a book (see below) that prompted this question. The book suggests that we can sometimes be overly accepting of information e.g. reading things on social media. We need to strike a balance and be more skeptically curious: open and yet challenging.

I’d love for you to send me your own stories / thoughts about this. Drop me a line with your answer / thoughts on this question

SHOUT OUT
Who / what I think deserves recognition, my gratitude or to be celebrated.

Parents With Children Flying The Nest

This is a personal one this week. Our middle son has been in Canada living his best life near a ski resort for a couple of years now. Recently, we waved off our oldest boy as he and his girlfriend left for a year down-under in Australia. It’s a funny feeling, the one where you are both excited for them and sad for yourself! Shout out to all fellow parents with children heading off to university and travelling etc.

BONUS GIFT FOR YOU
This week’s little extra for you - from me

This week’s gift for you is a new visual, created recently. This is for the book Awaken Your Genius by Ozan Varol.

The visual piece (below) is available to you for free (for 7 days) using the code: TRANSFORM when you check out.

Access is via the link below.

Please note that if you miss the 7 day offer, we can not extend this for you. You can, however always access the download for a nominal charge.

The artwork featured in this section is all copyrighted and for private use only. If you wish to use these online, in blogs / features or in presentations etc - we are happy to discuss licences. Please get in touch. The downloads do not have watermarks.

If you’d like to discuss having your ideas, business or culture captured visually - you can also let me know via email.

LEAPS is a process used by our team and clients all the time - and even my own family on a daily basis. 

I’ll be sharing a set of LEAPS each week with you and encourage you to do your own version:

• L: what have you learned?

• E: what’s your energy / feeling word

• A: what’s one thing you need to do?

• P: what are you thinking / processing?

• S: who or what can you shout out?