It is springtime and the mother of nature is showing its beauty again. I have been involved in such outdoor activities as hiking and fly fishing for years, and it is the time for more outdoor activities now. In this post, however, I am going to discuss fly fishing from its other perspective: the contingency planning.
Fly fishing is an art, which is based on knowledge and experience, has failures and successes, good days and bad days, and it takes you to places, where only outdoor freaks experience in their entire lives. You need to be passionate and adventurous enough in order to select, start, and follow this fabulous sport in your life. Once you start fly fishing, you start small with some basic tackle and if you preserve, you will grow so fast that in three to four years you will have a dedicated fly fishing room at home. You need to have panoramic view when you get to the water, as species that are fished on the fly, feed selectively and are highly sensitive in their feeding habit. You have to cast your fly correctly and precisely, to the right place in the right time in order to catch the trophies. In highly pressured waters, you have to make a competitive advantage and try to see what other do not see and fish where others do not even think about. You have to be accurate in choosing the fly and presenting it to fish. All these traits are familiar to those who are involved in entrepreneurial activities. There are plenty of facts that are common between fly fishers and entrepreneurs, but among them, the high degree of uncertainty is the biggest challenge that both entrepreneurs and fly fishers face.
Uncertainty is the integral part of fly fishing trips. Although fly fishers prepare for fly fishing by checking the weather and having previous knowledge of the area and flies for specific waters, they still have to carry a contingency plan with them. Most fly fishers have a logbook, in which they keep the record of their trip details in order to use them in the future. However, what happens on the water is not always what they are expecting. There is no regular trend, and conditions are not predictable. Even the most prepared and experienced fly fishers cannot predict their fly-fishing trips in advance. Fly fishers need to have a high tolerance of ambiguity, since the outcomes are mostly unpredictable. This high tolerance of ambiguity requires special risk-taking character.
When dealing with contingency planning, various scenarios should be taken in mind. For instance, when fly fishers plan for long fly fishing trips – and they know that the fishing conditions are not predictable until they drive more than 5 hours and get to the water – they have to keep other plans in mind. Fly fishers know that there might be changes in fishing conditions, and such changes require fast and precise decision-making. The plan B is not always what they had in mind as plan B. In many occasions they should make the plan B right away on the water. They know that they have already spent time and energy to get to the water and considering that they have had both sunk costs and opportunity costs, they should make the best out of their fly fishing trip, thus they should be able to fail fast and cheap and try to switch or even create the plan B as soon as possible. Failing fast and cheap is not all that fly fishers face, as they have to face more challenges. Fly fishers should wade into the water in many cases, but they never test the depth of the river with both feet. They check the options and see which part of the river is good enough for them stand or cross. Fly fishers should also know about the possible dangers in the area (e.g. wolf packs, bears, snakes, etc.) and do the best plan in order to mitigate the danger.
Entrepreneurs also deal with these types of risks, as they spend time and energy and prefer their entrepreneurial activity to other options. Thus, they have to be ready for uncertain conditions, in which they have to consider both their sunk costs and their opportunity costs. They should fail fast and cheap and try to make fast decision when necessary.
As mentioned in the earlier posts, entrepreneurs are risk-takers who take wise and calculated risks, trying to manage their future instead of predicting it. Risk taking, however, is not the same as thrill seeking for entrepreneurs. In the entrepreneurial world risk is tied to the expected future return. More innovation leads to more risk, hence, more value is generated. Dealing with these types of risks and being ready for ambiguous conditions is the character of most risk takers.
Jim McCormick (2008) in his book, “The Power of Risk”, describes the intelligent risk in three important steps: evaluating options, mitigating danger, and seizing opportunities. Intelligent fly fishers face some unplanned conditions, in which they have to make fast decisions. They have to take intelligent risk and evaluate options, mitigate dangers, and seize the new opportunities. Entrepreneurs are also real risk takers who make fast and cheap failures. They evaluate options and leapfrog business pitfalls, while always seeking for opportunities. Their panoramic view helps them find and catch the opportunities and pitfalls.