What do you do when the plan collapses, the goalposts move, and your definition of “success” has to evolve in real time? We brought on a crew that has lived that question.
This Week’s Panel
– Dean Stott: former UK Special Forces operator; record-setting adventurer now navigating a new chapter in the corporate/private investment world.
– Steve Gowin: U.S. Army veteran, retired law-enforcement professional, long-time contractor; coach and family leader.
– James Gearing: former firefighter/paramedic; host of Behind the Shield podcast, translating frontline lessons into sustainable practices for service and life.
Key Insights from our “Adaptability” Conversation
1. Adaptability is trained in the smallest reps
Steve’s nightly family debriefs aren’t cute, they’re conditioning: What worked? What didn’t? What changes tomorrow? Small AARs build the reflex to adjust without drama when the stakes scale up.
2. Principles anchor; tactics flex
Dean framed the SF mindset as “expeditionary”: you enter with partial information, update the picture on contact, and keep updating. Values hold the line; methods move as reality demands.
3. Update the map or get lost on a perfect plan
A plan can be flawless for yesterday’s terrain. Treat new information as a mandatory patch – upload it into your life now, not later – so you stop repeating and start adapting.
4. Redefine success mid-stride
When conditions shift, so should the scoreboard. Declare the new end-state, why it changed, and what “good” looks like now. That’s how you break sunk-cost thinking and free the team to move.
5. Seek rooms where you’re not the expert
If everyone looks to you for answers, you’re in the wrong room. Put yourself where your job is to close your mouth, take notes, and let better questions drag you forward.
6. Make discomfort deliberate, not accidental
Steve treats stress like a gym: exposure with intent. Choose hard things on purpose – new skills, roles, environments – so chaos doesn’t have to choose you first.
7. Institutional change requires cultural after-care
James pointed out that responders excel at solving other people’s emergencies while their own systems resist change. Without an after-action culture (review → repair → reinforce), organizations revert to yesterday by default.
8. Translate experience into something portable
A story isn’t a teaching until it travels. Strip jargon, keep the insight simple, encode it so others can recall it under pressure. (Rule of thumb: if they can’t repeat it tomorrow, you didn’t teach it.)
Final Thought: Adaptability is disciplined humility
Values fixed, methods flexible, tempo constant, confident enough to learn, humble enough to serve. Anchor the why, adjust the how, keep the pace, and move with purpose into the unknown – again and again.
Where do you need to update the map today?
Listen to the full “The Edge of Adaptability” discussion here: Adaptation
Keep adapting,
Shaun & The Collective Crew
