I hear this a lot at the moment. “It’s the economy.” “It’s AI.” “We can’t get the right people.” And so it goes on.

Stop doing that. Face reality head on. If there is truly nothing you can do, then pack up and go home.

But let’s be honest, most of the time there is something you can do. It is just not what you have always done. And that is where leadership counts.

When the old playbook stops working

If what worked yesterday is not working today, you cannot just wait for the world to return to “normal”. Normal is not coming back.

Too many companies fall into the trap of making brutal cuts, laying off staff and slashing budgets in the hope of buying time until the market turns. But the market is not obliged to turn in your favour. AI will not “go away”. The economy will not return to the exact pattern you relied on in the past. If you wait, you will wait forever. Until the money runs out.

A better way forward

What does work is to rethink, to look hard at the assumptions you have been making, and to open the conversation wider than the boardroom.

Bring together the best thinkers in your business. That does not mean only the senior leadership team or the strategy unit. It means a genuine mix: young and old, digital natives and those with decades of experience, people who know the customer and those who know the numbers. Everyone in the room must have an equal voice. Dismiss nothing, however silly it might sound at first.

When you do this properly, two things happen. First, you surface ideas that were hidden because nobody thought they were allowed to be voiced. Second, you re-energise your people because they see they are being trusted to help shape the future.

Examples from the real world

History is full of businesses that stopped blaming external factors and started adapting.

• IBM in the early 1990s: Facing collapse after years of losses, the company could have blamed the market for moving away from mainframes. Instead, Lou Gerstner threw out the old playbook. He reoriented IBM towards services and integration, listening to both veterans and younger engineers. That decision saved the company and created a new growth engine.

• Netflix in the 2000s: It would have been easy to blame the market when DVDs began to decline. Instead, Reed Hastings openly challenged the business model, cannibalised his own revenue and pivoted to streaming. Many inside the business thought it was madness, but Netflix created an entirely new industry.

• Unilever in the 2010s: Rather than cutting its way through tough consumer markets, Paul Polman doubled down on sustainability and innovation. He invited ideas from across the business and aligned them to a clear strategy. That move didn’t just protect Unilever, it gave the company a competitive edge.

None of these organisations sat back and said, “it’s the market.” They faced into reality and created a new one.

One bite at a time

This is not about instant transformation. The way forward is small steps. Test ideas, plan carefully, execute quickly. Build momentum one bite at a time.

Leaders who survive and thrive are not the ones who moan about the economy, the technology or the talent pool. They are the ones who take ownership, challenge their assumptions and adapt fast.

So the next time you hear yourself saying, “it’s the market,” stop. Ask instead: “What can we do differently, starting today?”