Not every opportunity arrives according to plan.

I wasn’t planning on Vegas.

I was planning on Vancouver.

I was flying home from a sunny winter beach getaway when our flight was diverted because of weather.

My first thought?

Dang.

Now my flight is more than three hours late.

Then, almost immediately, another thought arrived.

Vegas!

Fun!

I was travelling alone and, of all places to get unexpectedly stranded, Vegas seemed like a pretty good option.

The hotels were a quick Uber ride away.

The people-watching would be spectacular.

And suddenly what looked like a frustrating delay started looking a lot more like an unexpected adventure.

That’s when I realized something.

Opportunity often arrives disguised as inconvenience.

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The Unexpected Option

The airline announced that anyone wanting to remain in Vegas instead of continuing on could simply let them know.

And suddenly a completely new option appeared.

A free night in Vegas.

An unexpected adventure.

A chance to seize the moment.

Now before you think I immediately jumped off the plane…

There were a couple of challenges.

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The Strategic Evaluation

First, my carry-on was packed for a beach holiday.

Sundresses.

Bikinis.

Flip-flops.

Not exactly Vegas evening attire.

Although, let’s be honest, Vegas has probably seen worse.

Second—and more importantly—I was heading home for my niece’s wedding shower.

Missing that wasn’t an option.

So I did what strategists do.

I paused.

I evaluated.

I weighed the opportunity against what mattered most.

Then I made the decision.

Back on the plane.

Off to Vancouver.

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The Real Insight

The lesson wasn’t whether I stayed in Vegas.

The lesson was that I considered it.

Most people become so attached to the original plan that they stop seeing opportunity.

They keep moving forward even when something better, easier, faster, or more profitable appears.

That’s not strategy.

That’s autopilot.

Strategic thinkers pause long enough to ask:

What else might be possible here?

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A Client Taught Me This Years Ago

One of my clients had a detailed growth plan.

Everything mapped out.

Everything organized.

Then something unexpected happened.

A university approached them with a large project.

It wasn’t part of the plan.

It wasn’t particularly exciting work.

But it was profitable.

Very profitable.

His first instinct was to dismiss it because it wasn’t what he had planned.

Instead, we explored a different question.

What if this opportunity was the strategy?

What if moving the original plan back twelve months created a much bigger win?

It did.

Sometimes opportunity arrives disguised as a detour.

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Strategy Quick Win

When something unexpected shows up, don’t automatically reject it because it wasn’t in the plan.

Pause.

Look closer.

Ask better questions.

The opportunity may not be the distraction.

It may be the strategy.

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Reflection

What opportunity have you dismissed simply because it wasn’t part of the original plan?

And what might happen if you gave it a second look?

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One Conversation Can Change Everything

Sometimes the biggest strategic shift comes from looking at a situation through a different lens.

A Think-Strategy Session is designed to help you untangle complexity, recognize opportunity, and identify the move that matters most.

Because sometimes the best opportunities are the ones you never planned for.

→ Explore Think-Strategy Sessions

Deborah Richardson
Strategic ThinkPartner
Creator of the Think-Strategy Shift