𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸.

This week, I ran one of my usual rail experiments. Instead of travelling between London and Munich via Brussels, I went via Paris.

The idea was simple: remind myself what the alternative feels like. And sometimes it’s nice to have a different view from the carriage window.

Since I’d chosen the last possible overnight connection, there was always a risk of something going wrong. And it really did. Nothing major, but one thing led to another and the original plan was well and truly derailed.

The thing travel experiments like this have taught me is that the optimal solution is often not to get back on plan. Tempting as it is, the answer usually isn’t to throw more effort at making the original route work; it is to adapt from where you are.

Once I clocked that other people’s plans had also been disrupted, I knew I’d be competing for seats. So I ignored the official advice everyone else would be following and took trains in the wrong direction, to catch a delayed one going in the right direction.

That kind of thinking is essential to my Human Risk work. My clients don’t need someone to help them keep doing what they already planned. They need help managing uncertainty, understanding human behaviour and finding smarter options when the plan stops working. That is much easier to do when you practise it.

Which is why — sorry Stephen Bartlett fans — I don’t try to optimise my schedule. Inefficiency is part of the business model. Now I do build slack into my travel, so client commitments are protected; I’m not going to be late for your workshop because I’m playing railway roulette.

But experiments like this help me think differently. And that makes me so much better at my job.