Navigating the Field of Possibility: Why Organisational Readiness Matters More Than Ever
Every organisation, whether it realises it or not, lives inside a field of possibilities. At any given moment, there are multiple futures available — some near and actionable, others distant and requiring more capability, alignment, or courage. This field is not static. It shifts constantly as markets move, technologies evolve, policies change, and social expectations transform.
The environment moves whether the organisation does or not.
This is why readiness matters.
The Adjacent Possible: Where Real Change Happens
In complexity science, the “Adjacent Possible” refers to the set of viable next steps a system can realistically take from its current position. These are not fantasy futures or long‑range aspirations. They are the immediate, achievable moves that expand capability, open new pathways, and shift the organisation into a better position.
Every organisation has an Adjacent Possible. Not every organisation steps into it.
And the difference between those that do and those that don’t is readiness.
Readiness as the Capacity to Choose
Readiness is not simply enthusiasm for change. It’s not motivation, or positivity, or even capability.
At its core, readiness is the capacity to make good choices under real limitation.
Organisations rarely operate with perfect clarity, unlimited resources, or ideal conditions. They make decisions in the midst of:
competing priorities
incomplete information
political pressures
cultural constraints
emotional fatigue
operational demands
Readiness is what allows a system to choose well despite these constraints.
When readiness is high, organisations move deliberately into the adjacent possible — the next viable step that aligns with their mission, vision, and long‑term coherence.
When readiness is low, organisations hesitate, avoid, or defer. And in that hesitation, something important happens.
When Organisations Don’t Choose, the Environment Chooses for Them
A system that repeatedly fails to make good choices — or avoids choosing altogether — becomes vulnerable to forces outside its control. Instead of shaping its own trajectory, it is shaped by:
market shifts
competitor moves
regulatory changes
workforce dynamics
technological disruption
Unreadiness hands the organisation’s future over to an independently moving environment.
This is how drift happens. This is how decline begins. Not through a single catastrophic decision, but through a series of non‑decisions.
The Strategic Cost of Unreadiness
When organisations lack readiness, they experience predictable patterns:
Opportunities appear but are not taken.
Problems are recognised but not addressed.
Leaders talk about change but don’t activate it.
Teams wait for clarity that never arrives.
The Adjacent Possible collapses instead of expanding.
In this state, even high capability cannot compensate. Knowledge alone cannot compensate. Good intentions cannot compensate.
Without readiness, nothing activates.
Reclaiming Agency Through Readiness
The good news is that readiness is not a personality trait or a cultural accident. It is a developable organisational capability.
When leaders and teams build readiness, they regain the ability to:
choose deliberately
act coherently
move into better futures
expand their Adjacent Possible
shape their own trajectory
Readiness is how organisations reclaim agency in a dynamic environment.
The Work Ahead
If your organisation feels stuck, hesitant, or reactive, the issue may not be strategy, capability, or culture. It may be readiness — the missing link between knowing and doing, between possibility and action.
The field of possibility is always moving. The question is whether your organisation is moving with it — or being moved by it.