Five lessons 2025 has taught business leaders so far - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
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Five lessons 2025 has taught business leaders so far - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
"I began the year with a blunt reality check: leadership today is forged in public, under pressure, and in real time. With Donald Trump already installed as US president for his second term, markets have moved faster than at any point in my career, reacting not to speculation but to executive action, rhetoric, and resolve. The first lesson this year has burned itself into my thinking: certainty beats comfort."
"The second lesson has come from watching how quickly policy can reprice the global economy. Trade tensions re-emerged almost immediately in 2025, with tariffs once again used as leverage rather than last resort. Supply chains that were assumed to be diversified revealed hidden concentrations, and boards that treated geopolitics as background noise were forced into emergency sessions. I've learned that resilience is not about having a plan on paper; it's about having options already in motion."
"AI moved from competitive advantage to competitive necessity this year. Regulatory scrutiny increased, workforce anxiety intensified, and customers became more discriminating about how technology is used rather than whether it is used. The insight here has been humbling: leadership is no longer about championing innovation blindly, but about setting clear human boundaries around it. The strongest organizations in 2025 are those where leaders actively explain why AI and automation are being deployed, how accountability is preserved, and how trust is protected."
2025 forced leaders to make public, real-time decisions as markets reacted to executive action, rhetoric, and resolve. Certainty gained over comfort, with informed early decisions and decisive adjustments outperforming waits for perfect information. Rapid policy shifts repriced the global economy as renewed tariffs exposed supply-chain concentrations and prompted urgent board action. Resilience became defined by options already in motion rather than plans on paper. AI shifted from competitive advantage to necessity, increasing regulatory scrutiny, workforce anxiety, and customer expectations. Strong leaders set human boundaries for AI, explain deployments, preserve accountability, and protect trust. Market maturation of alternative assets continued to influence strategic decision-making.
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