I have found this insight piece from success coach Joe Duncan, which to me, reflects the essence of strategic anticipation.

It is a critical leadership attribute for a professional in today's VUCANT world!

"If you are not able to think ahead and see things ahead of time you will never have control of your life.

You may be gifted, intelligent and have all the talent & potential in the world but if you can't think ahead and see what challenges, obstacles, threats and opportunities that may lie ahead of you then you will most likely never have any real control over yourself and your life.

Not having control over your life and not being able to make conscious decisions and choices will also greatly impact the quality of your life, the results you get and how people consider you.

You will be forever blaming everyone and everything for your life and sadly your life will ultimately be a mess rather than the masterpiece it deserves to be.

If you want to take charge of your life and you actually want to be in control of your life then you are going to have to have conscious thoughts and make conscious choices that take into account the possible scenarios and outcomes you will face in your day to day life and beyond.

Now I know more than anyone that you won't always be able to predict the future and see what's up ahead, but you can at the very least take some time out each day to calmly consider and think about what may come next and what challenges and opportunities may present themselves on your unique journey.

Thinking ahead is one simple step and strategy that might save you a lot of pain and frustration and allow you to take back control of yourself and your life, rather than feeling like you are at the mercy of everyone and everything around you."