I’ve seen the concept of having fluid thinking across several books, blog posts, and most recently the documentary Like Water (trailer).
The pillar or rock used to be the ideal of power and strength. A company would stand tall and steady with a solid foundation and business. They might slowly adapt if new competitors entered the space, but generally the larger the company, the more they tried to maintain the way things are, keeping the market predictable. They’d much prefer to buy up competitors than innovate themselves (*cough*Facebook*cough*).
As the factory has been shifting from a warehouse with an assembly line to a person with a laptop, the concept of thinking like water becomes more and more relevant.
As part of this new concept, you are replacing the old stalwart symbols of power— the rock, the oak tree, etc.— with that of water, the element that has the greatest potential force in all of nature. Water can adapt to whatever comes its way, moving around or over any obstacle. It wears away rock over time. This form of power does not mean you simply give in to what life brings you and drift. It means that you channel the flow of events in your direction, letting this add to the force of your actions and giving you powerful momentum.
– Robert Greene, The 50th Law