For subscribers
Trump tariffs will test crisis leadership skills
Too often in a crisis, leaders may recognise that some of their assumptions are wrong but fail to account for the power of the ripple effect.
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Recent movements in the financial markets showed us the beginnings of what the next crisis might look like.
PHOTO: ERIC LEE/NYTIMES
Gautam Mukunda
Follow topic:
President Donald Trump’s announcement, abeyance and (in the case of China) escalation of tariffs has thrown markets into turmoil, creating levels of uncertainty approaching those produced by Covid-19 and even threatening the bond market. Yet in the days since the administration declared a 90-day pause on many of the duties, markets appear to have stabilised.
This surface calm risks luring leaders into perhaps the biggest mistake one can make when navigating a crisis: failing to update your mental models to properly account for the new world you’re now living in.
