When you first wrote your business plan, what kind of economic world did you imagine?

• Stable growth?

• Predictable inflation?

• A reliable supply chain?

• A reasonably tight but manageable talent market?

Be honest — does that world still exist?

For many leaders I speak with, the answer is no.

We’ve entered a landscape where assumptions are shifting faster than most plans can keep up. If your business strategy was built on one version of the economy, but you're now operating in another, what have you changed? What still needs to change?

Ask yourself:

• Are you rethinking your pricing or cost structure?

• Are you stress-testing your customer base for economic resilience?

• Are you keeping a close enough eye on macroeconomic data?

• Are your leaders equipped to think economically and strategically — or are they still stuck managing from an outdated playbook?

This isn’t just about finance. It’s about leadership agility.
In uncertain times, performance management and strategic clarity aren’t luxuries — they’re survival skills.

Have you revisited your assumptions this quarter?

Your business plan was based on an economic environment. But was it this one?

• Tariffs that didn’t exist when you wrote the plan

• Inflation that’s stubborn in some regions, dropping fast in others

• Labour shortages one month, layoffs the next

• Supply chains in constant flux

• AI rewriting workflows in real time

So here’s the leadership test:

1. Have you adjusted your plan, or are you still hoping the environment snaps back to fit it?

2. Are your leaders being retrained to manage in ambiguity — or are they just bracing and coping?

3. Do your suppliers, partners, and customers still align with the economic assumptions you made?

Now more than ever, your organisation needs leaders who can:

• Interpret shifting data

• Translate strategy into action

• Hold performance conversations that build capability — not just enforce compliance

Your business doesn’t just need to adapt.
It needs to learn faster than the market changes.

That starts with a new kind of conversation —
Not: “What’s wrong with the plan?”
But: “What kind of leadership do we need now?”