This topic was previously covered in one of my weekly newsletters. To get other timely tips, make sure you’re on the list: www.thejilljames.com/newsletter 

On Tuesday, I joined a fantastic webinar from Michigan’s Ross School of Business  about leading in uncertain environments, with economist Justin Wolfers and journalist Stacey Vanek-Smith. When asked what small businesses should do now, Wolfers said this:

“Your competition isn’t big businesses. It continues to be other small businesses. You don’t have to outrun the bear, you just need to not be the slowest human.” 

Unless you’re challenging a larger or more established company for business, most of you are trying not to be the slowest human. But you might spend a lot of time thinking about that bear.  

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re probably further ahead of the bear than you think. For example, I tend to think I’m behind on AI adoption. But as one of my former b-school professors pointed out last week, in the business world, I’m an early adopter. My peer group happens to include a lot of cutting edge folks. So I feel urgency to act, even when I’m nowhere close to being eaten by the bear. 

In an uncertain economy, the idea of investing in anything might be No or Not Right Now. In your future planning, think about where not investing would cause you to fall permanently behind. That’s you, the bunny, getting batted around by the bear claws. If that’s real, you need to make the best choice you can right now. 

On the flip side, if you know that lots of people are sitting on their hands with their wallets closed, perhaps it’s a good time to make a bigger bet, to put even more ground between you and that grizzly. 

Some other webinar takeaways, with editorial notes from me:

• Keep a regular eye on regulatory and political changes, but don’t feel like you have to hit refresh every hour. That can lead to being overly reactive. And it will definitely disregulate you.
• Have a holistic view of your current market, including the economy and policy conditions, so you can take in new data and evaluate whether it changes your outlook.
• Stay on top of your cash flow. If you’ve been reviewing quarterly, start doing it monthly. 
• No amount of drop in interest rates can offset a desire for more certainty around tariffs, Fed independence, and political stability before investing. But, even in this economy, you can’t skip over investments if it means you’ll fall permanently behind. 
• You’re over-incentivized by tax changes and rebates. Focus on profitability first and you’ll be lucky enough to have tax issues (and the money to pay experts to help you). 
• Use a range of reliable news sources. Consider one paid business news subscription to reduce the impact of screaming headlines that entice you to click for social views and advertising dollars. (Addition from me: have one news source you trust from outside the US.)

But seriously…less reactivity to social media and every single policy change. The current administration’s policy of “flooding the zone” is a different kind of bear. Keep a healthy balance so you can stay well out in front.