Working without a plan may seem scary. But blindly following a planthat has no relationship with reality is even scarier.
This critique echoes the collapse of “scientific management” illusions that began in the 20th century — from Frederick Taylor’s rigid time–motion systems to the Soviet five-year plans that mistook prediction for control. Both assumed the world could be tamed by spreadsheets. Reality didn’t comply. The most resilient builders, from postwar Japan’s lean factories to modern open-source movements, succeeded not through perfect plans but through constant adaptation — the art of staying awake in chaos.