How to avoid throwing baby out with the bathwater when navigating complex change

What happens when agility outpaces the systems and processes holding it all together?

You’re leading a high-stakes project, adapting swiftly to each new twist. Then, unexpectedly, you hit a funding gap that derails momentum. The reason?

In the excitement to adapt and move fast, no one applied the tried-and-true cost-tracking process—a routine so embedded it was almost invisible until it wasn’t there. It’s a stark reminder: even when navigating change, some systems and processes remain vital for stability and success.

While tactical agility is critical when navigating complex change, some things are not meant to be reinvented – like the trust you’ve built with your people. That doesn’t demand innovation. It requires care and consistency.

This is where the Lindy Principle comes in: what has endured has value precisely because it works. The basics of teamwork, clear communication, and reliable systems form the foundation of your ability to adapt. Ignore them, and even the most agile moves can collapse.

The Lindy Principle is all about the idea that things that last a long time are valuable because they work.

You’ll understand what I mean when you think about the following:

• Classic literature – Orwell’s 1984 has endured, and we see Jane Austen’s books being made into movies.
• Religious texts like the Bible and Quran have influenced societies for generations.
• AI may be on the rise, but we use old technologies like the wheel and paper – we may not write on paper as much, but it’s popular for packaging.
• Yoga and Meditation have endured because of their wellness benefits.
• Companies like LEGO have endured because they have stayed true to their core concept of creative building.
• Languages like English, Mandarin, Spanish, and Arabic are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
• Food and drinks like bread, wine and beer have been part of people’s diets in many cultures for centuries and are unlikely to change.

And how some once popular things have now mostly disappeared:

• Drive-in movies
• Computer floppy disks
• Typing pools
• Door-to-door salespeople.

The concept of the Lindy Principle first came about in the mid-20th century when it was noticed that some jokes told by comedians have stayed funny over the years.

The name “Lindy” comes from a New York City deli called Lindy’s, where comedians would hang out and chat about which jokes or performances would stand the test of time. This observation led to the idea that the longer a cultural item (like a joke or a play) has been around, the more likely it is to endure into the future.

Later, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot expanded on the idea with his work on fractals, and Nassim Nicholas Taleb made it more widely known in his book Antifragile. Taleb explained it as a way of thinking about how long things that don’t perish can last: if something has lasted 100 years, it’s likely to last another 100.

As Taleb said, “The resilient resists shocks and stays the same; the antifragile gets better”.

If you find this interesting, you’ll love the podcast episode I recorded with Paul Atherton, That Wall Street Guy.

Remember that tactical agility is one of the points in the Centring Star that enables you to navigate the storms of change. However, it significantly helps when you balance the need for innovation and shifting direction against respect for enduring fundamentals like people, processes and systems.

Tactical agility helps you adjust the sails, but the anchor—the enduring systems and relationships—keeps you from being swept away.

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