How to deal with instability overload

Alex Cook sees business leaders struggling with what he calls "instability overload".

This is the cumulative effect of political uncertainty, economic volatility and technological disruption that's overwhelming decision-making capacity just when strategic thinking matters most.

"Rarely do we make our best decisions when we're stressed, frantic or being pulled in 10 different directions," Alex says.

"Business leaders are facing unprecedented complexity"

Alex is a Birmingham-based strategy consultant turned peer advisory group facilitator. He's building networks via global peer community Vistage to help small business owners navigate an increasingly volatile landscape.

His background includes strategy projects with major brands like Burger King, Pure Gym and Hunter Boots, plus in-house experience at Skyscanner during the COVID travel industry upheaval. So he knows.

He says:

"With National Insurance uncertainty, potential budget changes affecting consumer spending and AI transformation creating workforce anxieties, business leaders are facing unprecedented complexity. It does feel more and more that we're getting pulled in lots of different directions.

"I recently spoke with an exporter whose predictable warehouse operations suddenly faced unexpected import bills, transforming routine logistics into a major strategic headache.

"It's gone from something that's just in the news to something that's very tangible – it's global instability impacting everyday processes."

Even positive changes can create stress

Alex believes that while AI offers efficiency gains, it can actually create challenges around people and team motivation.

"The technology itself isn't the problem – it's managing human responses to change while maintaining operational stability.

"People at the head of an organisation are expected to hold everyone else accountable. But if they say they're going to look into AI next month and then don't do it, who actually turns around to a CEO and says, 'You didn't do that'?"

This accountability vacuum means strategic priorities get displaced by urgent-but-less-important reactive tasks.

Alex adds:

"Leaders know they need to work on the business, not in the business, but external instability makes that discipline harder to maintain."

The benefits of peer advisory groups

Alex hopes his peer advisory groups – launching with global peer community Vistage across the West Midlands – address this challenge by creating structured accountability and shared problem-solving.

The model recognises that while external volatility may be unavoidable, internal responses can be managed through disciplined strategic thinking and peer support.

Alex explains:

"You can change how you react to it. You can put a plan in place. People often feel out of control when they don't have a plan."

His approach offers business leaders practical tools for maintaining strategic focus even when everything else feels chaotic.

Alex's five tips for dealing with instability overload

1. Pause before you act

When instability hits, our brains can trigger a fight-or-flight response, leading us to make rash, reactive decisions.

But we rarely make our best choices when we're stressed, frantic and being pulled in different directions.

Before you act, take a breath, sleep on it, reflect. Carving out this time allows you to think with clarity rather than fear.

Taking a walk in the morning (with no phone, no headphones!) can be a great time to reflect.

2. Find a confidential sounding board

Being the head of a business can be lonely. It's often impossible to be completely honest about every challenge with your whole team, your customers and your suppliers.

We all know the saying, "A problem shared is a problem halved". Find a trusted person or group of peers who are removed from your daily operations and with whom you can be completely candid.

You'll feel all the better for talking it through with someone. A coach can be a great help here.

3. Overcommunicate and level-up your people skills

Navigating external challenges like tariffs or AI is only half the battle... you also have to manage the impact on your people. It's a time of massive instability at the moment.

Make sure you have a finger on the pulse of how your team feels about the changes. Overcommunicating your plans, and reminding people of how these link back to your organisation's vision and mission, are key and offer clarity in a time of uncertainty.

Develop your soft skills (and those of your senior leadership team or managers) to help guide your organisation through uncertainty and prevent you being blindsided by people-related challenges.

4. Make time for strategic thinking

In a crisis, it’s tempting to get sucked into the day-to-day firefighting. To make time, you must learn to delegate effectively and empower your team – you can't tackle everything solo.

Looking at the Eisenhower Matrix can help, which I wrote about on LinkedIn. Consciously differentiate between what is truly "important" and what just feels "urgent".

Getting busy with urgent (but not important) tasks can feel good but confuses activity with impact. Instead, ruthlessly make time for strategic thinking to make sure you're spending your time where you'll have the biggest impact.

5. Seek diverse perspectives

Today's challenges, opportunities and changes – whether it's tariffs, AI, hybrid working or National Insurance hikes – are affecting more than just one industry.

Seeking different points of view from outside your immediate field is crucial. Outsiders aren't constrained by an institutional mindset or current ways of doing things.

Their fresh perspective can help you uncover blind spots and discover best practices from other sectors that you could apply to your business.

This is why peer advisory groups are so powerful. Why not drop me a line and I can help you find one in your area?