Find your
next move
A decision-making workbook based on how fighter pilots operate under uncertainty.
Why people
get stuck
Most people try to solve the whole future before making a move.
But important decisions rarely come with certainty.
In fast jets, we almost never had complete information. The situation changed constantly, and hesitation carried its own risks.
So we learned something more useful: how to move before we felt ready.
This workbook is built around that idea.
You do not need the full plan. You need the next move.
About
Paul Littlejohn
Paul Littlejohn is a former RAF fighter pilot, operational leader, and executive advisor.
He flew operational missions over Iraq, instructed on the F/A-18 with the US Marine Corps, and later led large-scale international operations across aviation and travel businesses.
This workbook is based on the decision-making frameworks developed in fast jets and refined in high-stakes leadership environments where waiting for certainty was rarely an option.
What does good look like?
Difficult decisions become easier when you are clear on the future you are trying to create.
In the military this is called commander's intent: a clear picture of the desired end state, without needing every step mapped out in advance. The future is uncertain. Plans change. New information appears. But if you are clear on what matters most, you can adapt while still moving in the right direction.
"I want to be happier" is too vague. Good answers describe the conditions you are trying to create. You are choosing a direction, not a fixed future.
In one sentence. Specific is better than tidy.
A good outcome over the next few years. Specific.
What you want more of. What you'll no longer tolerate. What needs to stay true.
Does it look different now?
What's my next move toward it?
Most people try to solve the whole future before making a move. That usually creates paralysis.
In the cockpit we focused on the next event: the next navigation point, the next fuel check, the next action that moved the mission forward. Fly to that point, assess, adjust, move again. You do not need the full plan right now. You need the next move that creates momentum and better information.
Your next move should create options, not reduce them. Choose moves that reveal reality, increase leverage, and keep you adaptable.
List 3 to 4 realistic actions. Even the ones that feel wrong.
The one that moves you forward, teaches you something, and keeps your options open.
What you'll do. Who you need to speak to. When.
Can I live with the downside?
Most people stay stuck because they are trying to remove risk before they act. Things go wrong. Sometimes the world actively works against you.
In the cockpit we understood this from the start. We could not control everything that would happen. What we could control was whether we put ourselves in a position we could survive if things went wrong. That is the idea behind tolerable worst case. Once the downside becomes survivable, hesitation loses its grip.
The realistic version. Not the catastrophe fantasy.
What would recovery realistically look like?
At what point would you stop, reassess, or change direction? Decide this now, while you are calm.
You came in stuck. You leave with an action.
Three lines. That is the whole point. You do not need to keep rethinking this decision. You need to do the thing you wrote down.
Hit a wall?
Some situations are too complex for a workbook alone. Organisational politics. Competing pressures. Problems that feel tangled because they are.
Get Clear is a 90-minute session focused entirely on your situation. What is actually happening, what matters most, and how to move.
If that's where you are, reach out. [email protected]
Or see more of how I work at wingmanexecutive.com.
Help me make this better.
I don't collect any data from this workbook. Your answers stay on your device. But this is a free tool, and the only way I know if it works is if people tell me. 20 seconds, if you can spare it.