I recently had a client who sounded almost defeated when chatting about the market for his business. He’s seeing that his network and prospects are in a “wait and see” mode. Again. 

The market has shifted for our clients from highs to lows and back again with several periods of complete standstills in between. Who knows how long the effects of these market shifts will last, or how long new plans will remain relevant – and keeping up with it all is exhausting. Mind you, LVL-Up is only five years old! 

Across our client base at LVL-Up, the market volatility from 2020 to 2025 has oscillated between explosive growth and complete standstills, sometimes within just a few quarters. These years have been turbulent for those trying to run a company and work through their strategic plan. And at the top of 2025, we could all sense that many industries were going to hit pause on their spending. 

Yet, there was a drive to change just to keep up: “What should we shift? How will we remain relevant in this new landscape? And is our identity still serving us?” 

Our clients leaned toward one of two major temptations: make a huge change or stop altogether. Both responses are costly mistakes that stem from what behavioral economists call "loss aversion bias," which is the tendency to prefer avoiding losses over acquiring equivalent gains.

The Strategy of Change 

What do we tell our clients? Minimize the arc of change in your strategy and maximize foundational repurposing in your operations. 

What does that mean? Make sure your operations can move and grow with your needs, and slow down on panicky decisions that turn you 180 degrees. 

Every time a business shifts its focus, tries to rebrand, or conducts a reorganization, the cost of the change alone can put the business in jeopardy. Research from McKinsey's strategy practice shows that companies making major strategic pivots during crisis periods have a 70% higher failure rate than those that maintain strategic continuity while adapting operationally. 

Just remember this: any change you make requires (1) buy-in, (2) management, and (3) solid reasoning (spoiler alert: panic isn’t a big enough reason). Here’s another spoiler: you will never get the first two requirements if the third isn’t good enough. 

When creating strategies for our clients, we want the company to be agile like the squirrel and not reactive like the dog chasing it. 

Squirrels operate within consistent behavioral parameters (gathering, storing, territorial awareness) while maintaining tactical flexibility. Dogs, conversely, exhibit reactive behavior that sacrifices strategic coherence for momentary stimulation. The dog is constantly shifting focus and can’t return its attention to prioritized needs. Remind you of a company you might have worked with before? How easy was it for you to focus in that environment? To prioritize and feel productive? In addition to the financial effects of costly change, leaders need to consider the chaotic effects on the company culture. 

A Framework for Strategic Agility

So how should a company shift with the market? Pretend the market isn’t there and build something that preserves your corporate identity while relying on a modular operational design and emphasizing the strengths of your team. 

Identity: Identify the parts of your organization that remain stable in spite of market changes, such as: 

• Organizational identity and values
• Core competencies and differentiators
• Primary value proposition
• Cultural foundations

Build out your identity to remain true to who you are, regardless of the market. Stay away from trends in language and jargon and lean into the strengths that your company and team bring to the table in high and low times. Ask what your company does exceptionally well, regardless of market conditions. Doubling down on what you do well helps you steer away from decisions based on quick, emotional responses and lean into that deeper experience that has proven impact with partners, prospects, and your team. Organizations with strong identity resilience resist the siren call of trend-chasing. 

Operations: Next, identify components of your operational structure that can remain adaptive, such as: 

• Service delivery mechanisms
• Market positioning tactics
• Resource allocation patterns
• Partnership structures

Design your operations and standard operating procedures to go and grow with the company. Maintain the ability to reconfigure components of your operations without redesigning the entire system. Be ready to outsource some of your fringe roles that may be a luxury position to hold in-house now, but could become essential as the company grows. 

Team: Build capacity for your team by evaluating what they are experts at and enjoy doing, and align these skills to the ways you deliver for your clients. Rather than viewing capacity as the number of employees on a team or department, think of it in terms of capability and map team strengths toward the competencies and differentiators you’ve outlined. You will find an increase in efficiency and productivity without adding to the number of employees you need. You will also be able to quickly identify the exact strengths you seek as the organization grows, and you have the ability to fill those gaps. 

Partners: Collaborate with industry partners or complementary service providers to extend your client base, audience, and reach. Your services may add real value to another company’s offerings.

Building For the Long Game

Market volatility isn't an aberration to be weathered—it's the new steady state. Organizations that thrive in this environment don't just survive disruption; they use it as a competitive advantage. The companies that emerge stronger won't be those that perfectly predicted market changes. They'll be the ones that built systems capable of thriving regardless of what changes occurred. 

As we've learned from working with dozens of organizations through this turbulent period, the secret isn't having the perfect strategy but rather building the organizational capacity to execute multiple strategies effectively as conditions evolve. Organizations that focus on core strengths often emerge stronger than the competitors that scatter their focus across multiple initiatives or give up completely.

The market will continue to shift, and your organization can remain relevant regardless of which direction the market moves. Instead of playing defense against uncertainty, build an offensive strategy with the capability to define your role in any market and make incremental shifts when necessary.

Want to understand how to address change for your company? Book a free discovery call to identify which elements of your strategy should remain constant and which should adapt with market conditions.