The Danger of Refusing to Recalculate, According to Leonardo Freixas

In a recent LinkedIn post, Leonardo Freixas discusses the critical business and personal lesson that can be learned from a GPS: the importance of adapting to changing circumstances rather than clinging to outdated plans. Freixas uses the analogy of a GPS to illustrate how individuals and teams often fail to adjust their course when reality has already shifted, leading to wasted time and missed opportunities.

Freixas highlights the stark difference between how technology and humans handle unexpected changes. “Your GPS never apologizes for recalculating,” he states, emphasizing its purely functional approach to navigation. “It doesn’t call the old route a failure. It doesn’t defend the original plan.” The technology simply processes new information and finds a new path forward.

“It simply reads the road, updates the path, and keeps moving.”

The Human Tendency to Defend Outdated Plans

In contrast, Freixas observes that people often exhibit a strong resistance to changing course, even when the evidence suggests it’s necessary. “But people do,” he writes. “They protect the route long after the conditions have changed.” This emotional attachment to a plan, he argues, can be detrimental.

According to Freixas, this inflexibility is not necessarily caused by a single poor decision, but rather by a refusal to acknowledge that the environment has evolved. “Not from one bad decision. But from refusing to recalculate when reality already has,” he points out.

Consequences of Inflexibility

The implications of this resistance to change can be far-reaching, impacting both individual progress and team dynamics. Freixas warns that this can lead to significant setbacks:

• Years get wasted.
• Teams get drained.
• Opportunities get missed.

He further elaborates on the core issue, suggesting that the true mistake lies not in encountering a deviation from the plan, but in perpetuating a course that is no longer viable. “The mistake isn’t the detour,” Freixas contends. “It’s staying loyal to a route reality already abandoned.”

“The mistake isn’t the detour. It’s staying loyal to a route reality already abandoned.”

Freixas’s analogy serves as a powerful reminder for leaders and individuals alike to cultivate adaptability. By embracing the concept of ‘recalculating’ when circumstances demand it, businesses can navigate challenges more effectively, conserve resources, and capitalize on emerging possibilities. The underlying message is that true progress often requires the courage to abandon a familiar path when it no longer leads to the desired destination.