Four Tips for Navigating Volatility

It’s fair to say that 2025 had a remarkable start. The incoming Trump administration has brought about a state of unpredictability likely to affect the business world in many ways. Like others, you are probably digesting the surge of executive orders, assessing whether they spell risk or opportunity and what immediate reaction is appropriate, if any. The areas of potential impact are wide-ranging: from tariffs, immigration, sustainability, and DEI to increased scrutiny for certain products, such as agricultural inputs, food ingredients, and pharmaceuticals. As you are taking in today’s news while trying to plan for tomorrow, we’d like to offer our perspective, which is informed by recent conversations with senior business leaders and rooted in our experience in risk mitigation and issues management.

1. What feels like a sprint will, in fact, be a marathon. It will take time to determine the real impact of most executive orders announced so far. Some are already being challenged in court, while others will have to be promulgated into regulations before they take effect. Take a pause before deciding to issue a public reaction to avoid opening your organization to unnecessary risk. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare. Leadership discussions, cross-functional alignment, scenario planning and message development are a must for every organization. Mapping out scenarios and analyzing their political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental implications (also known as the PESTLE framework) can inform decision-making and business, marketing, regulatory, and communications strategies.

2. Consider the impacts on all parties who are important to your organization. Whether it’s immigration, DEI, off-site work limits, or tariffs, chances are that many of the parties your organization interacts with are concerned about how they will be affected. This includes your customers, employees, value chain partners, investors and the communities where you operate. How you interact with them during these times of change will undoubtedly shape their opinions of your company – for better or worse. Abstaining from commenting on evolving policies does not mean you should avoid interacting with your key audiences. Inventory the questions or concerns they might have, prepare your stakeholder-facing teams to answer them and keep the lines of communication open. For example, if your workforce or customers are likely to be impacted by immigration measures, ensure that you have protocols in place to react to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) visit and that frontline employees are equipped with guidelines and talking points to react appropriately. While several major corporations have taken prominent positions on their DEI initiatives – either scaling them back or standing by them – many are quietly debating what to do long term. Whatever your position, it’s critical to ensure employees understand your policy and have a mechanism for providing their reactions.

3. Revisit your messaging. Trust helps organizations protect their reputation and brand value during difficult times. Your stakeholders will give you the benefit of the doubt during a crisis if they trust your brand. Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented erosion of trust – in institutions, corporations, and what used to be considered traditional authority figures, such as scientists and doctors – which might undermine the effectiveness of your messaging. Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) likely is contributing to this lack of trust, a movement which favors less traditional wellness and nutrition over modern agriculture, packaged foods and pharmaceuticals. It’s important to be aware of how much your audiences are influenced by current cultural shifts and factor that into how you position your products and technologies. Not just B2C, but also B2B, companies need to be aware of significant shifts in the consumer mindset because sooner or later they tend to impact entire value chains. To ensure your messages resonate with your target audiences, now is a good time to audit your materials and conduct research in segments whose positions may have shifted.

4. Tackle misinformation and disinformation. According to the World Economic Forum 2025 Risk Report, misinformation and disinformation are seen as the biggest risk, followed by extreme weather events and state-based armed conflict. The difference between the two? Misinformation is the unintentional and disinformation is the deliberate spread of falsehoods. Both have been prominently discussed in the context of elections but are just as important from a business point of view. The large language models (LLMs) that power AI applications feed off diverse sources of information —sometimes inaccurate ones — and can perpetuate misinformation through AI-generated content. Any communications strategy developed in 2025 needs to consider how to address misinformation and disinformation, as they can further erode trust in the brand. Setting up a process for spotting, mitigating and responding to disinformation coupled with a proactive strategy for disseminating accurate facts about your business should be top priorities for communications leaders.

2025 will be a year of both challenges and opportunities. Businesses that proactively address potential disruptions and act with ability will be best positioned to thrive. Get in touch today and learn how our team can help. Contact us at inquiries@standingpartnership.com.