John Ganem is the CEO of Kloeckner Metals Corporation.
Economic uncertainties. Soft markets. Sudden downturns. In my line of work as CEO of a metals manufacturing, supply and service company, none of it is rare. We’ve seen the cycle turn quickly, and we’ve seen it catch businesses off guard. And right now, with economic signals mixed and uncertainty high, it’s natural to start questioning what comes next.
That’s why leaders and entrepreneurs shouldn’t build a business for perfect conditions. Build it to be resilient.
When the economy starts to shift, the question isn’t, “How do we avoid this?” It’s, “How do we lead through it?” Because the reality is you may need to operate like an emergency room: with constant pressure, shifting variables, real-time decisions. There’s no room for panic. You focus on what’s in front of you, stabilize the situation and keep moving forward.
Lean in. This isn’t the time for pulling back.
When the economy slows, the first instinct is often to reset and even possibly retreat. But I see it differently. This is when your strategy proves itself—when everything you’ve built around resilience, value creation and volatility management starts to deliver.
We’ve been through years when the economy was up, but steel was down. We’ve watched inflation spike, pricing collapse and entire sectors go quiet. None of that is new. What matters is whether your systems, your people and your mindset are ready when the environment changes. In my experience, that’s the difference between a company that weathers the storm and one that falls behind.
If your foundation is solid, now’s the time to prove it. When others pause, stay sharp, ready to reassess, adapt and keep pushing on. That may mean letting go of yesterday’s strategies and having the discipline to refine your approach based on what the market is telling you today.
This is when leadership is tested. Accept the challenge, not because it’s easy, but because you’ve built a strategy designed to win. Be prepared for volatility, for headwinds, for the unexpected. And when others pull back, keep your foot on the gas. Always moving forward. Never moving back.
Lead with clarity, even when visibility disappears.
Don’t overlook or ignore the real challenges. Any major trade disruption can fundamentally impact demand. I’ve found the hardest part of a downturn isn’t the dip. It’s the ambiguity. No one knows how long it will last or how deep it might go. And when your customers don’t know either, when they’re trying to assess pricing, components and supply chains without clear answers, uncertainty compounds.
On top of that, some key components aren’t even made domestically. You can’t flip a switch and localize a supply chain overnight. That adds another layer of complexity. So as demand shifts, pricing adjusts and customer confidence fluctuates, it’s important to lead with empathy and respond with agility.
In moments like this, leadership means staying steady—not reacting, but responding. We’ve seen what happens when companies overcorrect, then race to catch up: Momentum stalls, and long-term strength erodes. So stay true to your strategy and keep investing in high-value products and services, because that’s what delivers over time.
But it’s not just operational. It’s cultural. When the headlines are dominated by fear, employees look to leadership for direction. That’s when clear communication and visible action matter most. I remind our team: We’ve been through this before. During the early days of the pandemic in 2020, steel demand collapsed overnight. Uncertainty peaked. And yet we came through it a stronger company, with a stronger team and culture.
That taught us something critical: These moments are temporary. Every contraction sets the stage for a rebound. The steadier your mindset, the stronger your position when the tide turns.
Control what you can. Be ready for the recovery.
Macroeconomic forces are out of your hands. But your preparation, your people and your decisions? Those are within your control.
I’m not losing sleep over economic uncertainties. What keeps me up is when we don’t manage the controllables, when we miss something we should have seen, or when we realize we should be doing more to support our people. That’s where the real risk lies.
Short-term panic can lead to long-term regret. Cut too quickly, delay the right investments or lose key talent, and you’ll be flat-footed when the recovery comes. And it will come.
There will always be hard quarters. There will always be unexpected twists. So the teams that think like ER units—calm, prepared and trained for chaos—are often the ones that outperform when things get tough. They don’t win because the path is smooth. They win because they’re built to handle the unexpected.
Think forward, move with purpose, and never let speculation replace strategy. No matter what the headlines say, what matters most is how ready you are to execute when it counts.
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