I think often times situations do not go as one intended them to go or in general things pan out differently. That is not to say that these unexpected occurrences are always bad but sometimes it is dis concerning when something does not seem to go your way. But as I discussed in my post last week, solutions to problems or even the problems themselves usually do not simply fit into a linear cause and effect relationships. And in the same way plans do not always follow a clear liner path, despite us desperately wanting them to. Our need for clarity and simplification is evident in our constant need to create long term plans that allow for little flexibility as well as our tendency to follow formulated methods to find a solution. I am not against long term plans nor am I against following formulated methods but often times they allow for little flexibility and can be constraining. And in a rapidly changing world it is impossible to account for all externalities as a result situations will not always go the way we intended them to go.
A way to minimize the number of externalities you are unable to account for is by paying attention to the needs and wants of the different stakeholders that are involved. Solutions to problems are always constantly evolving whether it be through innovation or by accounting for different factors that you did not consider at first. As a result individuals should allow plans, specifically solutions, to be somewhat flexible. Overall it is this lack of flexibility and creativity that leads many solutions to fail. Having an intention is important because it allows you to generally map out a plan or solution. But regardless of how you intended something to go it is impossible to account for all externalities and as a result intentions merely become a basis from which to start from. From that point on allow your plan to evolve and expect the unexpected.