The 48 Laws Of Power

244 LAW 29

REVERSAL

Itisacliché

amongstrategists

that

yourplan

mustincludealternativesand

havea

degree

of flexibility.

Thatis

certainly

true.If you

arelockedintoa

plan

too

rigidly,you

willbeunabletodealwithsuddenshiftsoffortune.

Once you

haveexaminedthefuture

possibilities

anddecidedon your

tar-

get, you

mustbuildinalternativesandbe open

tonewroutestoward your

goal.

Most

people,

however, loselessfrom

overplanning

and

rigidity

than

from vagueness

anda

tendency

to improvise

constantly

inthefaceofCi1‘~

cumstance.Thereisnoreal purpose

in

contemplating

areversaltothis

Law,then,

forno

good

cancomefrom

refusing

tothinkfar into thefuture

and

planning

totheend.If you

areclearand

fapthinkingenough,you

willunderstandthatthefutureis uncertain, andthat you

mustbe open

to

adaptation.Onlyhaving

3.clear

objective