If there’s one thing life teaches you, it’s that there’s moreprofit to zigging when the rest of the world is zagging.

Related: Here's the Obama fiduciary policy Trump'sDOL really should rescind

This means a little bit more than merely acting the contrarian.It implies earnest study on the exact “Whys?” and “How Comes?” asit pertains to the zagging habits of the masses. In a way, thisborrows from the advice of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, when hesaid, “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fearthe result of a hundred battles.”

Several related quotes that careful 401(k) plan sponsors ought to be most mindful of, include“take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way byunexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots,” “If the enemyleaves a door open, you must rush in,” and “He will win who,prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared.”

Perhaps the most telling quote, and one trial attorney CharlesField alludes to when he says “ERISA does not permit complacency,(see “ExclusiveInterview with Charles Field: Less Restrictive Open 401k MEPsRelieve Some Burdens for Smaller Employers,”FiduciaryNews.com, June 20, 2017), is “If the enemy istaking his ease, [the attacker] can harass him.”

Field, like the ubiquitous Jerry Schlichter, comes from thatbreed of lawyer most feared by plan sponsors, their serviceproviders, and retirement fiduciaries in general. While todayhe’s a trial attorney, for most of the early part of his career herepresented the other side of the aisle.

What does that mean? It means he more than just “knows his enemylike he knows himself” -- he knows where all his enemy’sskeletons are buried. That’s a scary thought for the mild-manneredplan sponsor.

Yet Field was kind enough to share several bullet points’ worthof tactics that might alleviate some of the fiduciary risk 401(k)plan sponsors least understand and most fear. Indeed, he believesthat, with the implementation of the DOL’s long awaited fiduciaryrule, “We have reached a watershed moment for retirement planningand saving.”

Given its vast amount of publicity, it has never been more clearwhat the nature and risk of playing the role of fiduciary is toplan sponsors. Field warns, though, that the biggest risk to plansponsors is to fail to fully understand the scope of theirfiduciary duty.

The dangers inherent in this “watershed moment,” indeed, duringany period when we find ourselves on the cusp of a majortransition, reside in the lack of established templates to definethe new paradigm.

Unfortunately, for unsuspecting plan sponsors (and their serviceproviders), the usual way to establish those templates is via caselaw. That means tort lawyers pressing the issue in a way that thecourts, rather than the regulators, decide what the real rulesare.

It appears the original intent of the rule recognizes thesignificance of this legal process and baked it into the cake. Thatmakes the DOL’s life a little easier, but the fuzziness ofdefinitions can understandably cause angst within plan sponsorcircles.

Eventually, according to Field, “clean shares” – mutual fundshares without conflict-of-interest fees – will come to dominatethe market. This will remove a major risk plan sponsors currentlyfind themselves exposed to. Removing conflict-of-interest fees,however, won’t entirely alleviate the downside for plan sponsors.The only way to reliably reduce that liability requires awell-documented process (complete with adequate benchmarks) andon-going due diligence.

In the words of Dory, the scatter-brained yet surprisingly wisefish sidekick in the movie “Finding Nemo,” this is a “just keepswimming” strategy. Times of transition contain fast-movingcurrents. What’s normal and accepted today is anomalous and shunnedtomorrow. Plan sponsors do themselves no favor by resting on theirlaurels expecting the world to maintain a peaceful stasis.

Don’t take your ease. Don’t allow the DOL to harass you. Don’tallow class-action attorneys to harass you.

Just keep swimming.