Change management, small business, industry and leadership

4 April 2025


Donald Trump and his team are creating change that has not been seen in a long time. For many it looks scary and unpredictable. How do we remove that unpredictability and fear?


The leaders of business associations need to come together and confront this crisis.


In the past, during one of the greatest economic changes we have seen, orchestrated by an Australian Government (Hawke-Keating), we saw the floating of the dollar and the removal of tariffs on many products. Jobs were lost, new jobs created. Enterprises and communities were impacted.


To manage that impact the government, and some highly skilled people in the public sector, ensured those affected, at the local, enterprise and community level, were engaged, consulted and communicated with. The locals were empowered with funds and information.


Today rather than consulting widely, politicians and policymakers often engage only with a select few. This means that centralised decision makers can be out of touch. As we go into the election, we know that the political parties will respond to the needs of major corporate and union donors. If independents hold the balance of power, their effectiveness might depend on political manoeuvring rather than community needs.


Dealing with change – the planning and action - should happen locally not in an office in Canberra or in a corporate head office way up high in a tall building in a major city. Governments set the scene and the policies then empower the locals to do the work.


During any economic change, some small businesses will suffer and close and others will see opportunity and prosper. This current change is so volatile that we need change management experts to do their stuff.


The media provides much expert opinion including comments from academics and economists. We can pick and choose who we read and of whom we take note. For those who care - I'd always take note of Chris Richardson.


But what about those who can take action, not just make comment? Many day-to-day experts on specific business and social issues are in Australian industry associations, particularly those connecting regularly with their small and medium businesses members. Experts are also found in ‘local’ communities across the nation. These people are able to make decisions and inform others much more quickly and efficiently than any government department.


The leaders from industry associations need to come together to confront this issue. They have successfully done this before in times of uncertainty and peril.


We were all deeply concerned during the bushfires of 2019; then we were unsure and indeed afraid at the beginning of COVID – the small business community took action. Leaders of small and medium industry groups met weekly, from early 2019 till 2020. We swapped information, heard from the frontline businesses and workers and communicated with Ministers and with key government agencies who also regularly attended. The federal Treasury representatives told us that this was the only place they were getting real time information.


We also met with those from big business, unions and community groups.


These associations leaders would communicate the new or modified facts to their members, giving them some certainty and enabling them to inform their customers on what they were hearing. Information is vital in times of change.


There are of course important questions to be discussed around the changes. What will be the impact of proposed tariff changes for the various industry sectors? What will the impact be on big, medium and small businesses, if any? How will it affect the communities and regions? What does it mean for consumers and for workers? What does it mean for the supply chains, for education and training, for agriculture, for energy and power and so on. We need answers that are not just from text books.


Small and medium business people are directly connected to consumers, workers, suppliers and communities. In small business change is nothing new, yet the magnitude and pace of current change needs a strategic, proactive response. Collective action - coming together to identify potential disruptions, mitigate downside risks, and seize new opportunities.


We should not confront these changes by saying ‘let’s watch for a bit’ or ‘let’s be careful’. Being careful is essential and that can be done with the information we have and by gathering more information as we need. But change like this is not for wimps.


The impacts will also be very specific. What does it mean for hairdressers, pharmacists, service stations, restaurants, finance brokers, the various trades, for educational institutions and so on and so forth. And it will differ from community to community, from cities to regional towns.


Another fact is that large businesses facing new challenges often scale back operations, leading to job losses that impacts local economies where they are based. Supply chains will face disruptions. Consumer spending patterns may shift rapidly. These factors will have real consequences for people and for businesses particularly in retail, hospitality, manufacturing and beyond.


The path forward requires strategic thinking, sector-wide coordination, and a commitment to managing change locally and with confidence. It’s time for industry leadership. It's time for governments to work with the broad community not with their mates.