I’m kinda fond of planning ahead.
Not the part where you whip out Jira and start assigning tasks and setting up sprint boards like a madman. More so what happens before then.
The thinking through what needs to happen next, and what might happen next, and how to reconcile the two. Then we can move over to Jira.
No one can predict the future, of course, but there’s a comfort in knowing roughly what to expect and having the chance to prepare for it, good and bad. Entire professions — ahem, program management — are built around this concept. A good chunk of the business world, too. Hence all the fuss over setting quarterly and annual goals and running a predictable rhythm of analysis and reporting.
You know what doesn’t work so well right now?
Planning ahead.
All the things, all at once
We’ve been on this trajectory for a little while now. In recent weeks, though, it’s accelerated beyond Ludicrous Speed (which I mentioned not that long ago) and gone straight into WTAF Chaos.
Within my org, significant pivots have gone from occurring annually (2024 and prior) to quarterly (last year) to monthly (Dec-Feb) to weekly (literally all of March). And it shows no signs of slowing down.
Every day, at any moment, everything we expected and everything we thought we knew could change, for a variety of reasons. Used to be, we called these crisis events. Now we call them Tuesday.
It’s not just the big things. It’s all the things. Did anyone have “mass replacement of home routers across the U.S.” on their bingo card this year? Yeah, I didn’t think so. But even if you did, it’s not as easy as a Thanos snap that suddenly puts a new device in your living room. We’ve got to contend with supply chain snarls and tariffs and global conflicts and lack of domestic manufacturing facilities and … well, you get the picture.
At work, the constant specter of layoffs is hanging over everyone’s head, draining morale. Those once-predictable annual goals shuffle around like Three Card Monte, and just making it to the end of the day feels like a demented version of “Wild Kingdom.”
<Marlin Perkins narrator voice>
“The tech worker sits down at their desk and logs on first thing in the morning, eager to bring value to the company and find personal fulfillment. Watch their face as they learn their flagship product was cancelled half an hour earlier and three reorgs occurred overnight.”
In some companies, unfortunately, it’s more like “Survivor” than “Wild Kingdom.”
It’s not just you. Really.
This sort of chaos is a direct result of the chaos going on everywhere else, which you’re likely well aware of. Businesses are doing what businesses do, and putting an emphasis on continuity. That is, how do we keep this business running in any way, shape, or form until we get through this mess and go back to happier times (undertext: and happier times for shareholders in particular).
This is the playbook for times of uncertainty. But what’s moved us into uncharted territory is the breathtaking AI-fueled acceleration of literally everything. Since no one has any idea how to manage it or what to work toward, you’re watching the cycle of experiment-learn-iterate play out at a global scale. Strategic changes that once took 6 months or more to execute are now happening in a matter of days, and dramatic actions are hitting the headlines almost daily. Case in point: OpenAI’s abrupt decision last week to shut down their Sora video platform, which also ended a huge deal with Disney.
Workers aren’t the only ones caught in the middle. Clients and customers have to be prepared to go into continuity mode at a moment’s notice, too. Another case in point: Small e-tailers, who’ve already been whiplashed by tariffs, will now face an 8% fuel surcharge from the U.S. Postal Service for package deliveries. Higher prices and empty shelves don’t make customers happy, which just exacerbates the situation.
Preparing for the unpreparable
WTAF Chaos has unlocked a new circle of hell for workers, and knowing the reasons why it’s happening doesn’t ease the pain. So we’ve gotta go back to that old chestnut: You can’t control what happens, but you can control your reaction to it.
I recommend taking a few pages from the business continuity playbook. Let’s call it personal continuity.
Side note: This next part is aimed at folks who are fortunate enough to be employed in the current market. If you’re in the middle of a job search, that’s a different circle of hell, and I wish you didn’t have to go through it. If you’ve already chosen the self-employment route, see above re: business continuity.
Okay. Back to the prep work. First, don’t panic. You make better decisions when you’re not in fight-or-flight. Second, learn everything you can about AI and, in particular, how to use it in your day-to-day. Your objective isn’t to churn out workslop or perform productivity theater. It’s to get familiar with which tools work best for which purposes. There’s no one-size-fits-all, despite what the AI companies are trying to sell. Keep track of all your gains. Did you automate an email process? Awesome! Write it down and quantify how much time it saves, even if you have to ballpark it. Did you build a working prototype? Woot! Document the steps you took to get there, and learnings along the way.
While you’re working on this, think about your Plan B. Meaning, if the pink slip comes tomorrow, what would you do next? Seek a new role in the same field? Switch fields? Become a founder or entrepreneur? Retire early?
When you’ve got that pinned down, next up is a reality check. If your dream is to become an underwater basket weaver, you’re probably not gonna have a lot of luck there. Consider your financial situation and family situation, too. If your reserves wouldn’t sustain a long job hunt, for example, you might need a bridge job to cover the bills. Write out the pros and cons, and adjust your plan if you need to. AI can be a thought partner, and a research assistant if you’re looking for market guidance.
The goal isn’t to make the pivot right now. Rather, you’ve given yourself a framework on how to prepare for it if and when the time comes. Boost your emergency fund if you need to. Map out a business plan if you’re thinking of freelancing or a portfolio career. Take some free courses to build your skill set. Brush up your LinkedIn profile and start casually networking if a job search might be in your future. It’s much, much easier to do this now than when the pressure’s on.
There’s no Plan Police waiting in the wings. You’re free to change your mind anytime you’d like, whenever the situation changes. Which, frankly, might be tomorrow.
And whatever personal-continuity work you do now will serve you well no matter what happens next.
All opinions here are my own. All text is my own, too, including the em dashes. I welcome constructive comments and discussion on LinkedIn and Bluesky.