Why Did Napoleon Have No Definitive Plans?

David Senra says one of the most surprising lines in The Mind of Napoleon is that Napoleon had no definitive plans, only projects. Napoleon had few really definitive ideas. Instead of trying to control circumstances, he obeyed them, and they forced him to change his mind all the time. He repeated that point.

Senra sets the line next to Henry Singleton. Once criticized for not having a business plan, Henry Singleton said he knew many people who ran companies on very definitive plans and followed them assiduously. A great number of outside influences bear on a business, and most of them cannot be predicted. His plan was to stay flexible. His only plan was to keep coming to work every day. He liked to steer the boat each day rather than play a plan far into the future.