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AirSaaS the Quarter Plan and the effective approach: managing uncertainty without predicting, shit?

Le Blog AirSaas
Publié par
Thomas POITAU
Le
March 2, 2026

For years, organizations believed that better management meant Predict better.
3-year strategic plans. Fixed annual roadmaps. Budgets locked in October for the following year.

And yet, the situation is the same everywhere and these rhythms are challenged every day:

  • priorities that change every 3 months
  • saturated teams,
  • decisions postponed due to lack of reliable visibility,
  • diffuse feeling of “undergoing” rather than driving.

The problem is not a lack of strategy. The problem is a profound confusion between planning and forecasting.

This is precisely where The effection, the Quarter Plan and Airsas come together.

Without always naming it, Airsaas tools a management logic resulting from the implementation of:

act from reality, engage gradually, learn as we go, and maintain control over what depends on us.


Expert insight: Jean-Luc Dagron

“When Thomas from AirSaas reached out to co-write an article on the links between effectuation and their AirSaas solution, the connection felt natural to me.
At its core, effectuation is about controlling risk in an uncertain environment.
To achieve this, it is built around five principles:
• Start with what you have (the fridge)
• Affordable loss
• The crazy quilt
• Leverage surprises (lemons into lemonade)
• Pilot in the plane
AirSaas represents this ‘crazy quilt’ of projects — numerous stakeholders, a fridge full of resources, and a system of exchange that must quickly identify the lemons to imagine — together — the lemonade.
It is the tool of the pilot in the plane who builds their world (AirSaas chooses to do this quarterly to synchronize the organization) and commits acceptable resources to control risk and move forward.
The tool strongly reflects my vision of the collective commitment that every project represents. It moves away from an aesthetic of complexity to foster simplicity and transparency.”

Jean-Luc Dagron
Partner at Talisker and member of the Effectuation Mastermind

Why implementation is becoming relevant to manage complex organizations

Effectuation is a decision logic formalized by the researcher Saras Sarasvathy, initially observed in entrepreneurs facing strong uncertainty.

Contrary to the classical causal approach:

  • we are not starting from a fixed objective,
  • we are not trying to predict the future,
  • you don't optimize an ideal plan.

We are doing the opposite.

We're leaving:

  • Of resources actually available,
  • Of stakeholders ready to engage,
  • Of a acceptable level of risk,
  • and we are gradually building the future through action.

What was true for entrepreneurship also applies to the C-Levels in charge of projects and the future of businesses and organizations:

  • the CIOs,
  • the directions of transformation,
  • multi-team organizations,
  • unstable IT and business environments.

👉 Businesses live today In forced execution, but continue to be controlled with tools designed for a predictable world.

It is exactly this inconsistency that the Quarter Plan, equipped with Airsas, comes in part to solve.

Airsaas & performance: the 5 key points of convergence

1. Starting from real means, not ideal goals

Effectiation — “Bird in Hand” ↔ Capacity Quarter Plan

Principle of performance
You don't start with an ambitious goal.
We start with what we really have:

  • teams,
  • skills,
  • time,
  • of capacity.

Classic business problem
Strategic plans assume an ideal future capacity... that never exists:

  • teams that are already saturated,
  • implicit arbitrations,
  • projects launched “anyway”.

Quarter Plan translation with Airsaas
The Quarter Plan imposes a radical reversal:

  • capacity is declared front prioritization,
  • initiatives are arbitrated in a real envelope,
  • What doesn't fit... doesn't fit in.

Airsaas embodies this principle through:

  • capacity visibility per team,
  • the voluntary limitation of the number of initiatives,
  • explicit prioritization

Concrete benefit
👉 Fewer untenable promises.
👉 No more decisions taken.

2. Limiting exposure rather than maximizing ambition

Effectiation — “Affordable Loss” ↔ Commitment = renouncements

Principle of performance
We are not looking for the theoretical maximum ROI.
We define What we accept to lose if the initiative is unsuccessful.

Classic problem
Organizations over-commit:

  • too many projects,
  • too soon,
  • too long.

Result:

  • organizational debt,
  • team fatigue,
  • zombie projects.

Quarter Plan translation with Airsaas
The quarter becomes a unit of controlled risk that requires conscious renouncements :

  • short commitment,
  • strong reversibility,
  • regular reassessment.

Airsas allows:

  • to engage without locking yourself in,
  • to stop without stigmatizing,
  • to decide on the basis of facts.

Concrete benefit
👉 Fewer costly failures.
👉 No more secure experimentation.

3. Co-building with stakeholders

Effectuation — “Crazy Quilt” ↔ IT/Jobs/Management Alignment

Principle of performance
The future cannot be decided alone.
It is built with those who agree to commit themselves.

Classic problem

  • decisions taken in a restricted committee,
  • delegated execution,
  • passive resistance of the teams.

Quarter Plan translation with Airsaas
The Quarter Plan is a collective object :

  • shared visibility,
  • explicit arbitrations,
  • commitments made visible.

Airsaas becomes:

  • a common decision-making space,
  • a support for dialogue,
  • a real alignment tool, not a cosmetic one.

Concrete benefit
👉 Fewer “yes but.”
👉 No more co-responsibility.

4. Transforming the unexpected into a control variable

Effectiation — “Lemonade” ↔ Ongoing quarterly adjustments

Principle of performance
The unexpected is not a problem.
It is a decision-making raw material.

Classic problem
Rigid plans explode at the first disturbance:

  • new business priority,
  • major incident,
  • budgetary constraint.

Quarter Plan translation with Airsaas
The Quarter Plan accepts instability:

  • regular reviews,
  • scenarios,
  • crisis-free readjustments.

Airsas allows:

  • to integrate change without breaking everything,
  • to make the impacts visible,
  • to decide quickly.

Concrete benefit
👉 Fewer outdated plans.
👉 More control in real time.

5. Pilot what you control, not what you predict

Effectiation — “Pilot in the Plane” ↔ Airsaas pilot cockpit

Principle of performance
The future is not foreseeable.
He is Made by controlled action.

Classic problem
The indicators focus on:

  • hypotheses,
  • theoretical milestones,
  • promises.

Quarter Plan translation with Airsaas
Airsaas acts like a cockpit:

  • visibility on real progress,
  • arbitrations based on facts,
  • decisions made at the right time.

Piloting becomes:

  • active,
  • iterative,
  • empowering.

Concrete benefit
👉 Less storytelling.
👉 More control.

Execution vs tooled control with Airsaas

Principle Without Tools With AirSaas
Actual Resources Assumed capacity Declared capacity
Risk Long-term commitment Quarterly commitment
Stakeholders Silos Visible alignment
Unexpected Events Reactive Integrated
Decision-Making Predictive Data-driven

FAQ: Effectuation, Quarter Plan, and Airsaas

Is Airsaas an implementation tool?

No Airsaas is a control tool Who makes the performation practicable at scale.

Does the Quarter Plan replace a strategy?

No He gives it back executable and adjustable.

Can you pilot without predicting?

Yes. Provided you have a short framework, reliable data and visible trade-offs in a homogeneous context. In a complex context, the peak line is to understand the level of predictability necessary for transversal work.

Why is the quarter key?

Because it balances:
• commitment,
• apprenticeship,
• reversibility.

Who is this approach for?

CIOs, transformation departments, PMOs, COMEX facing operational uncertainty.

Conclusion — Tool-based implementation, at last

Airsaas does not “perform” in the academic sense.
Airsas makes effective governance possible in complex organizations.

The Quarter Plan is not just another method.
It is a realistic steering framework for an unstable world.

👉 Fewer predictions.
👉 More control.
👉 No more decisions taken.

Discover the Airsas Quarter Plan
Request a demo
Regain control over your real capacity

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