As we move deeper into 2025, macro issues continue to create uncertainty in the boardroom: The new U.S. administration's new policies and priorities, the scheduled Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) sunset, interest rates and global monetary policies, a shifting trade and tariff landscape, and of course emerging technologies and evolving risks and regulations. Rapid change, coupled with uncertainty, can impact a company’s ability to fully execute its strategic plans. 

And yet: A changing environment is not inherently negative. We’ve seen time and again, organizations that understand how changing market forces can impact their business can act more decisively than competitors that don’t, and create opportunity. They are better equipped to rethink their operations and make strategic investments that mitigate risk and drive future growth.

So how do you not only keep up with the change ahead, but thrive amid it?

Make return on investment (ROI) a guiding principle to enhance decision-making in times of uncertainty. When modernizing marketing and sales, top-line growth should be evident; modernizing employee training should reflect in improved work quality and client acceptance. If you can’t measure the value of a decision, or tie an ROI to a new process or practice, you may need to reconsider doing it. Clearly articulating desired outcomes provides a framework for evaluating progress.

Understand your clients’ needs, wants, and preferences at a deep level. This understanding allows businesses to adapt their services and ultimately gain market share by addressing and overcoming client challenges. Talk to them about things that keep them awake at night, and issues they haven’t even anticipated; helping customers see around corners is where you can bring tremendous value.

Know your most significant risks, and maximize resilience against them. Some organizations are going to be more heavily affected by new policies at the federal level; others are especially vulnerable to geopolitics. Across the board, cyber threats and third-party supply chain risks  are near-universal. Conducting enterprise risk assessments helps identify specific challenges and mitigate exposure.

Resiliency requires two key things: Anticipating events and challenges, and involving all business areas and aspects in resilient effort planning.

Identifying and planning for potential disruptions allows a company to begin solving for those issues, with appropriate planning for business continuity and incident response; if you understand the probability of any certain event and prepare accordingly, you will be ready to outpace your competition whatever may come.

All of your departments and processes need to be considered in planning. If you want to plan for cyberattacks, for example, you can’t just isolate the IT team in a room conducting tabletop exercises. How are you going to communicate with vendors? With employees? How will you continue broader operations? Enterprise risk and resiliency involve the entire enterprise and must not be addressed in silos.

Embrace modernization to transform business strategy and output. Beyond AI, analytics, and ERP tools, business development and finance functions are also evolving, with automation enhancing efficiencies and freeing up time for value-added activities. Opportunities abound for reimagining employee training, cyber threat assessment, process automation, and cloud migration. It can be a struggle to keep up with today’s pace of change; it takes a carefully planned balance of legacy tech with new software, and the right human roster, to avoid tech debt and inefficiencies. But despite these challenges, modernization decisions present significant opportunities for growth.

For additional insights to help you not only keep up with the change ahead, but thrive amid it, download our guidebook At the Forefront: C-Suite priorities for value, resilience, and performance.

Ready to get started in identifying and navigating some of the top issues facing your organization now or in the year ahead? CohnReznick’s industry-leading advisors strive to help you stay at the forefront with strategies that maximize value, optimize performance, and manage risk. Reach out to start the conversation.