Tariffs Happened

By Jason Park

Last week, the White House announced an unprecedented reciprocal tariff policy. Suffice it to say that the market is…reacting.

While tariffs themselves aren’t new, the broad scope and systemic “eye for an eye” approach are.

How will all of this play out?

If you have that answer, 346.8 million Americans would love to know.

• Some believe we should buckle up for recession, inflation, and trade wars.

• Others believe this will drive domestic manufacturing and increase U.S. competitiveness in global trade.

Whether you believe one set of arguments or another is none of my business – this isn’t the place for politics.

And realistically, some combination of things will likely happen. The real world is messy. Causality is challenging – if not impossible – to pin down.

But one thing is guaranteed: uncertainty.

Figuratively speaking, if there were 100 possible outcomes before, now there are 1,000. And I wasn’t prepared for the other 900.

As humans, we’re wired to fear uncertainty and ambiguity. And when we’re afraid, the natural response is often inaction (commonly also accompanied by analysis paralysis, etc.)

For operators like us, it’s already all too easy to let day-to-day fires pull us away from the big picture of improving efficiency.

• “I didn’t implement that process change because we were too busy shipping.” Even though that change would have made shipping easier for our team.

• “I didn’t have time to interview candidates for the job.” Because I was too busy doing the job I’m trying to hire someone for.

We do this when things are “normal.”

Now, layer in unprecedented global economic uncertainty, and the impulse to “keep things the way they are for now” will be stronger than ever.

Or the classic, “Let’s wait and see.”

(You’ve thought this yourself at least once while reading this.)

As humans, this is our natural impulse. Literally, a survival instinct.

As operators, we must resist the temptation to seek constancy over progress.

In a moment like this, inaction is more expensive than ever.

• Don’t postpone the process improvement initiative you’ve been planning.

• Don’t delay that automation rollout you’ve already budgeted.

• Don’t stop replacing your outdated system.

As my college psychology professor used to say: “A person makes a decision because they believe it is the right thing to do.”

You made those decisions because you believed they were the right things to do.

Tariffs don’t change that. In fact, uncertainty makes efficiency more important. Right before the big race is when diet and training matter most.

If you don’t know what tomorrow looks like, that’s all the more reason to reduce waste and improve productivity today.

• That might mean spending a little extra money now, to save more money later.

• That might mean enduring some short-term disruption, to secure greater long-term benefits.

In times of uncertainty, that money you save later matters even more. Those long-term benefits you wanted only become more valuable.

Don’t let tariffs (or uncertainty) stop you from doing the right things for your business, right now.