A Puzzle That Taught Me More Than the Answer
Thinking about adaptability as a life skill, I often return to a lesson I learned during a ProjectLink Bootcamp. This bootcamp included series of missions designed to test and strengthen project management skills. One of the side missions was deceptively simple: solve a number puzzle for extra points.
Our team quickly came together to tackle the challenge, but almost immediately it became clear that each of us saw the puzzle differently. Each person came up with a unique solution, and when it was my turn, I presented mine with absolute confidence. I was certain I had cracked it.
But then came the questions. A teammate began to poke holes in my reasoning, challenging my logic and pointing out flaws I hadn’t considered. Deep down, I knew they might be right, yet instead of reassessing, I dug in. I dismissed the criticism, even went so far as to blame the puzzle itself, convinced the problem must have been poorly defined, not that my answer could be wrong.
In the end, the results were released, and my solution was indeed wrong. What stung wasn’t the mistake itself, but the realisation that my unwillingness to adapt had cost me the chance to find the right path. If I had been more open to feedback, I could have gone back to the drawing board, approached the problem differently, and perhaps arrived at the correct answer. What seemed like a small exercise carried a much bigger message: our ability to adapt, in projects and in life, can be the difference between success and missed potential.
When Organisations Fail to Adapt: Lessons from Industry Giants
Adaptability is not an abstract concept—it is a practical requirement for survival. History is full of examples of organisations that once dominated but faltered because they failed to adjust to changing realities. For project management professionals, these cautionary tales highlight why adaptability must be treated as a core capability, not an afterthought.
Take Nokia, once the global leader in mobile phones. Few could deny its dominance in the early 2000s. Yet, despite its strong position, Nokia focused too heavily on hardware and neglected software development. Its delayed response to the smartphone revolution meant that by the time it tried to pivot, competitors like Apple and Samsung had already reshaped the market (Surowiecki, 2013). The result? Nokia’s mobile division was sold to Microsoft in 2014, ending an era that once seemed untouchable (Microsoft, 2014).
Blockbuster offers another example. A household name in video rentals throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, the company appeared unstoppable, with thousands of stores and a loyal customer base. But as consumer behaviour shifted towards streaming, Blockbuster dismissed the trend as temporary. It even declined the chance to purchase Netflix for a fraction of its current value (Dalton & Logan, 2024). Today, Netflix is worth more than $500 billion, while Blockbuster survives only as a novelty brand—a stark reminder of the cost of clinging to the past (StockAnalysis.com, 2025).
BlackBerry’s story carries a similar lesson. Its physical keyboard was once iconic, especially in the business world, but its attachment to that feature blinded the company to the touchscreen revolution. It failed to invest in broader ecosystems and user experiences, and by the time it attempted to adapt, the market had moved on. Eventually, BlackBerry exited the smartphone business altogether (Joshi, 2025).
These stories show a consistent pattern: success breeds comfort, and comfort fuels resistance to change. The inability to adapt in time drove these companies from industry leadership to irrelevance. For project professionals, the lesson is clear: markets shift, technologies evolve, and client expectations change. Without adaptability built into the DNA of projects and organisations, the risk of becoming the next cautionary tale is very real.
In the end, adaptability is not a luxury for innovative companies; it is a necessity for every organisation and every project. The world will continue to change, whether we are ready or not. The real question is: will we change with it?
Adaptability at a Personal Level
It is one thing to discuss adaptability at the organisational level, but real change begins with individuals. As human beings, we are wired to seek safety, predictability, and control. While these instincts support survival, they often make us resistant to change.
Psychologists highlight several reasons why adaptability feels difficult:
- Fear of the unknown: uncertainty creates anxiety, and we prefer the security of what we already know.
- Comfort zone bias: we gravitate toward familiar routines, even when they no longer serve us.
- Status quo bias: we preserve the current situation, overlooking opportunities for improvement.
As a result, we often stick to what feels safe, even when it is ineffective. We default to “no” when confronted with change because it feels easier than facing discomfort. Yet in doing so, we limit growth, avoid new experiences, and miss opportunities for progress, adventure, or connection.
In project management, this resistance shows up in practical ways. A planner may cling to a baseline schedule even when conditions demand adjustments. A cost engineer might resist new estimation techniques because the old way feels safer. A risk analyst may hesitate to challenge assumptions because it creates tension. Each of these reflects the same instinct: hold on to what feels comfortable, even at the cost of better outcomes.
Researchers suggest that negative thought patterns are one of the greatest barriers to adaptability. Faced with new responsibilities or unexpected changes, many of us fall into cycles of doubt: “I am not ready for this,” or “This will never work.” Left unchecked, these thoughts fuel stress and resistance, making it harder to engage constructively with change.
The Foundations of Cognitive Restructuring
Adaptability is often challenged not by external circumstances but by our own thinking. Negative thought patterns trap us in cycles of resistance, making it harder to respond to change with clarity. Cognitive restructuring helps break those cycles by reframing how we interpret challenges. It rests on three steps, called the 3Cs: Catch, Check, and Change.
- Catch
The first step in the 3C’s is catching. This involves becoming aware of negative or unhelpful thoughts as they occur. Often, people may not realise how frequently they engage in negative self-talk or hold irrational beliefs that affect their mood and behaviour.
Imagine this: You’re presented with a new role or project that’s outside your comfort zone. Your first thought might be, “I can’t do this. I’m not ready. I will mess up” That thought creates anxiety, avoidance, and maybe even resistance to change. But through cognitive restructuring, you pause. You catch that thought. You interrogate it.
- Check
Once you’ve caught a negative thought, the next step is “Checking”. This involves evaluating the accuracy of the thought. Ask yourself questions like: is this thought based on facts, or is it an assumption? What evidence do I have that supports or contradicts this thought? For the previous example, you might consider instances where you’ve succeeded or done well in new roles, which contradicts the notion that you always mess things up in new roles. This step helps you differentiate between thoughts based on reality and those that are distorted by negative thinking patterns
3. Change
Reframe the thought into something balanced and constructive. Instead of “I always fail,” shift to “I make mistakes, but I also succeed and can learn from setbacks.” This is not about ignoring risks or glossing over challenges. It is about choosing a mindset that enables growth.
For project professionals, this is more than theory. A scheduler who catches frustration when a plan slips, checks the belief that “everything is lost,” and changes it to “the schedule can be adjusted” will adapt far better than someone stuck in negativity.
Catch. Check. Change. is simple, but it transforms the way we process challenges, making us more adaptable, less reactive, and better equipped to guide projects through uncertainty.
Adaptability as a Choice
Adaptability is not simply a trait we either have or don’t have—it is a deliberate practice. We saw how industry leaders like Nokia, Blockbuster, and BlackBerry lost their positions because they clung to what once worked, ignoring the signs of change around them. At the individual level, the same resistance plays out in subtler ways: a cost engineer dismissing new methods, or any of us choosing the comfort of familiar thinking over the uncertainty of growth.
The challenge is that negative thought patterns are quick to surface. “I’ll fail.” “This won’t work.” Left unchecked, these thoughts shape how we respond to change. The framework of Catch. Check. Change. offers a practical way to pause, interrogate our assumptions, and choose a more constructive response. It is not about being right every time—it is about remaining open, flexible, and willing to shift when circumstances demand it.
The lesson is simple but often uncomfortable: projects, businesses, and people that refuse to adapt eventually stall. Those that cultivate adaptability continue to move forward.
So, the next time you face uncertainty, challenge, or disruption, take a step back. Catch the thought, check its validity, and change it into something that moves you closer to progress. Adaptability may not eliminate the unknown, but it will prepare you to navigate it—and in project management, that preparation often makes all the difference.
Author:
Ndivhuwo Masia (Junior Project Management Consultant)
References
Dalton, J. and Logan, A., 2024. Why Blockbuster really collapsed. Inc.com, 25 June. [Online] Available at: https://www.inc.com/john-dalton-andrew-logan/why-blockbuster-really-collapsed.html [Accessed 21 August 2025].
Joshi, N., 2025. Why Nokia and Blackberry lost their edge. Medium, 15 March. [Online] Available at: https://medium.com/@cast_shadow/why-nokia-and-blackberry-lost-their-edge-ab1c050d99e7 [Accessed 24 August 2025].
Microsoft, 2014. Microsoft officially welcomes the Nokia Devices and Services business. Microsoft News Centre Europe, 25 April. [Online] Available at: https://news.microsoft.com/europe/2014/04/25/microsoft-officially-welcomes-the-nokia-devices-and-services-business/ [Accessed 24 August 2025].
StockAnalysis.com, 2025. Netflix Market Cap. [Online] Available at: https://stockanalysis.com/stocks/nflx/market-cap/ [Accessed 27 August 2025].
Surowiecki, J., 2013. Where Nokia went wrong. The New Yorker, 3 September. [Online] Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/where-nokia-went-wrong [Accessed 27 August 2025].
