Most leaders like to think they’re making conscious, reasoned decisions. In reality, many of our choices are reflexes shaped by habits, patterns, and unseen biases that nudge us toward what feels familiar rather than what’s effective.

Too often, strategic foresight tools like environmental scanning are treated as a one-time task. It’s a box ticked in the early stages of strategic planning. The team gathers data, writes a summary, inserts it into a report—and moves on.

Job done.

Except it’s not.

Not if you’re leading in complexity.

COVID showed us that business strategy was not up to the task of dealing with disruption.   While the pandemic showed us we needed to adapt when disruption hit we also needed to have another look at the way we built key governance documents – like a strategy. When we did this we realised that the traditional approach was not up to the job.

Change only sticks when the organisation has built dynamic capacity before the change begins.

Dynamic capacity means your people can adapt, absorb surprise, and stay connected while systems shift. It means you’ve built enough trust, clarity, and coordination that the next disruption feels navigable rather than exhausting.

That’s what navigating complexity develops — the ability to build this internal elasticity before the market, the mandate, or the moment demands it.