Strategy as a continuous and complex journey

"Don't stop paddling!" Lessons for leadership from kayaking

I had my usual catch up with Ed Morrison this week, and he shared his experience of being a white water rafter. As Ed recounted the experience of navigating turbulent rapids, it became clear that his kayaking stories held powerful lessons for leadership, especially when navigating the unpredictable forces that shape our organizations. His perspective offered a refreshing take on strategy and hierarchy, two concepts we often separate but, as Ed put it, are more closely connected than we think.

We had been discussing the visual metaphor of shifting maps and charting course whilst the ground moves beneath you. I have developed visual metaphors around sailing and navigating on the sea. I like to dig into a metaphor and see how far it extends before it breaks. I can see that in a vessel on the sea you are effected by forces that cause you to roll, yaw and dive, whilst all of the time trying to move forward in the direction you are charting. Storms, bad weather and other external forces impact your ability to reach your goal. It is easy to see how the journey is complex. But there are additional dimensions in this metaphor that I hadn't considered. In strategic work, we’re often tempted to think we’re steering a cruise liner, plotting a long-term course with clear waters ahead. But in reality, we’re often more like kayakers, with limited control over the river’s twists and turns. The key is to stay agile, light on our feet (or paddle, as it were), and constantly moving forward.

Ed began by painting a picture of what it’s like to tackle a set of rapids (something that my land legs will never let me do!) The kayak, he said, is a perfect metaphor for strategy in complex environments. “In whitewater, you’re in constant motion. You’re always paddling, always adjusting, because the water is powerful and constantly changing. Stop paddling, and you’re going to tip over.”

In business, we’re often tempted to think of strategy as a set course, but Ed emphasized that, much like a kayaker, we need to continuously adjust, stay agile, and work with the forces around us. For leaders, this means embracing strategy not as a static plan but as a responsive, flexible approach that adapts to changing currents. Stopping—or becoming complacent—can destabilize the organization, just as it would in the rapids.

Reading the River, Not Fighting It: Letting Change Guide You

Ed’s experience taught him that success in the rapids isn’t about overpowering the water; it’s about reading the river and responding to it. “The river’s currents are like the forces around your organization. You can’t control them, but you can work with them,” he said.

In the same way, organizations shouldn’t resist market changes, new technology, or evolving customer needs. Instead, strategy should be about recognizing these forces and letting them guide our movements. As Ed put it, leaders can find their strongest positions by working with the “current” rather than against it—an approach that can be especially valuable in hierarchical structures, which are sometimes slow to adapt to new conditions.

Hierarchies in the Rapids: The Edge is Where Innovation Thrives

Ed’s story about whitewater kayaking led us to consider another insight: how hierarchies work within the context of change. In a big, strong current, you can’t make sweeping moves; it’s about smaller, continuous adjustments. This mirrors how leaders can approach hierarchical organizations, where rigid structures often resist sudden, drastic change.

Instead of trying to reshape the hierarchy all at once, leaders should look to the organization’s edges—its more flexible, adaptive areas. “The edges are like the sides of the rapids. They’re where you can move with more freedom, where innovation can grow without being squashed by the center,” he explained. These “edges” are ideal places for testing new ideas and exploring new ways of working because they aren’t as constrained by traditional hierarchical controls.

By creating space for innovation on the edges, leaders can experiment, adapt, and eventually let these successful practices filter back to the core of the organization.

Human Connection

Ed spoke passionately about the potential of networks to overcome the limits of rigid hierarchies. In traditional organizations, people often get caught in silos, working within the confines of reporting lines and job titles. But Ed highlighted that real power lies in empowering these people to connect based on shared goals, not just roles. “The potential of human connection is infinite,” he said, suggesting that by building networks across departments and functions, leaders can create a structure that is both resilient and responsive, like a kayaker who reads the river and adapts.

The Edge Effect

One of the most intriguing points Ed made was that as new, adaptive practices develop at the organization’s edges, the hierarchical core naturally starts to move toward these innovations.

“It’s like the center of the river being pulled towards the edges over time,” he said. “When practices on the edges show success, they start to attract attention, and eventually, they reshape the whole system.”

This “edge effect” shows that transformation doesn’t require an immediate overhaul. Instead, the gradual pull of successful edge practices can influence the core, bringing hierarchy and adaptability closer together in a more natural, sustainable way.

As our conversation wrapped up, Ed left me with a profound thought: “Leading through complexity is about finding balance—between stability and adaptability, between the structured center and the innovative edges. Like whitewater kayaking, it’s about making continuous adjustments, reading the environment, and staying in motion.”

It’s easy to think that hierarchy and adaptability can’t coexist, but Ed’s experience on the river tells a different story. By empowering networks, creating space for edge-based innovation, and letting successful practices shift the organization’s core over time, leaders can foster a structure that’s resilient, responsive, and ready for whatever lies around the next bend.

Strategic Doing provides a structured yet flexible framework for navigating change, especially in complex environments. Unlike traditional hierarchical approaches, Strategic Doing encourages leaders to foster collaborative, cross-silo networks that drive innovation at the edges of the organization. These networks enable people to connect based on shared goals and ideas rather than fixed roles, creating a dynamic environment where solutions can emerge naturally. By leveraging these adaptable networks, Strategic Doing allows us to innovate in spaces that aren’t confined by the usual barriers, helping us sidestep the rigidity of hierarchies.

At its core, Strategic Doing empowers teams to act quickly, iterate, and learn in real-time, aligning their actions with organizational goals while maintaining flexibility. In this way, innovation isn’t forced from the top down but grows organically from the edges, where people are closest to emerging opportunities and challenges. This approach doesn’t just facilitate creative problem-solving—it also builds a resilient structure capable of adapting to change and sustaining momentum. By embedding Strategic Doing into our leadership approach, we can guide change in a way that’s agile, interconnected, and ready to adapt to whatever lies ahead.

So, as leaders, maybe it’s time to take a page from Ed’s kayaking journey: embrace the edges, keep paddling, and let the current help shape the path forward.