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
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.
