Geopolitical Turmoil as Innovation: Leadership Under the New US Landscape in 2025

April 2025. It’s hard to ignore the whiplash we’ve all felt in business over the past decade. From trade wars to pandemic shutdowns, supply chain chaos to geopolitical instability, it feels like we’ve been riding a constant storm. Yet, as I sit here reflecting on the past two to five weeks—talking to leaders across industries, looking at the latest trends—something is starting to emerge, something not obvious at first. It’s subtle, but it’s there. Could it be that the turbulence itself is what’s pushing us to evolve as leaders? Could these crises, that have often felt like the end of the road, actually be the catalyst for our most transformative breakthroughs?

The latest reports from McKinsey’s update on the Geometry of Global Trade for 2025 don’t exactly offer optimism. With new US leadership shaping global policies, the tightening of supply chains, the rise of protectionism, and the shifting balance of power between the US, China, and emerging markets—one could argue the world is poised for even more uncertainty.

But as leaders, what does that mean? How do we engage with it? Are we supposed to be sitting still and hoping for stability to return? Or is there a deeper question we should be asking ourselves: How can we thrive in chaos?

Leadership in 2025: A New Kind of Survival?

As I reflect on conversations and insights I’ve gathered over the last few weeks, the biggest takeaway is this: geopolitical chaos is not something to survive—it’s something to leverage. The best leaders I’ve encountered in Asia over the past ten years aren’t just managing change. They’re shaping it. And in doing so, they’ve turned crises into opportunities, using disruptions as innovation labs for new strategies.

In the past, the common refrain from executives was, “We’ll ride this out, we just need to hold the line.” But today, I’m hearing a shift. More leaders are stepping into the discomfort, testing new waters, pivoting at speed, and, most surprisingly, trusting their intuition more than the data.

I’ve witnessed this evolution across a range of industries: consumer tech, logistics, industrial, luxury. It’s becoming clearer that adaptability is not just a soft skill—it’s becoming the backbone of strategic growth.

Lessons From Asia’s Frontlines: Turning Chaos Into Growth

Take one example I came across in the last few weeks: a senior leader at a global consumer electronics firm shared an experience from the height of the zero-COVID lockdown in China. His factory was shut for three months, and the global headquarters had instructed the team to pause hiring and halt all innovation. But, instead of retreating, this leader’s team went in the opposite direction.

Here’s how they flipped the script:

• They repurposed idle engineering talent to co-develop new product features tailored to smaller cities in China.

• They formed a joint venture with a domestic supply partner, sidestepping the international shipping bottlenecks.

• They launched a localized direct-to-consumer sales channel that quickly outpaced their legacy retail channels.

It wasn’t about waiting for clarity. It was about moving first, even when the road ahead was unclear. As the SVP of Greater China said, “In chaos, the boldest voice becomes the standard.”

The Real Risk: Staying Stagnant in 2025

It’s no secret that many MNCs are still operating with an outdated mindset, clinging to playbooks from 2018, or even earlier. But as I speak with more leaders, it becomes evident that in 2025, sticking to these models isn’t just unproductive—it’s dangerous.

LYC Partners Insights reveals that 68% of APAC executives feel that their global HQs are still benchmarking against models irrelevant to today’s challenges. The most frequent complaints? Risk aversion, slow decision-making, and an obsession with certainty. It’s not surprising. After all, global headquarters often feel disconnected from the hyper-local realities in markets like China and Southeast Asia.

When I hear stories like this one from the Regional Director of Industrial Tech in Southeast Asia, it’s clear why: “Our competitors in China are launching five iterations of a product while we’re still waiting for approval on version one.”

The agility of local Chinese companies in responding to market needs continues to outpace MNCs. Speed is favored over certainty. Reinvention is prioritized over replication. And in this new world, uncertainty isn’t something to be feared—it’s an opportunity to be seized.

Building a Leadership Team Ready for the Next Crisis

In the last few weeks, I’ve been reflecting on how we build teams capable of navigating this volatility. From interviews with over 100 APAC leaders across various sectors, three patterns seem to be emerging. It’s not about following the rules—it’s about knowing when to break them.

1. Anticipate, Don’t React: Leaders need to be proactive, anticipating potential disruptions before they happen. One global med-tech firm in APAC set up a “Scenario Response Cell,” a team dedicated to creating playbooks for various geopolitical scenarios. It’s no longer about big, slow planning—it’s about quick, flexible responses based on real-time data.

2. Reframe the Chaos: Instead of resisting change, great leaders see it as a pressure cooker for innovation. For example, one logistics company used trade restrictions as a springboard to localize their tech infrastructure, which then became a major selling point in Southeast Asia.

3. Transform or Perish: The most successful leaders aren’t simply executing global strategies—they’re rewriting the playbook on the ground. It’s about promoting nonconformists, leaders who challenge processes, embrace cultural agility, and are unafraid to disrupt the status quo.

The Road Ahead: What’s Your Move?

As I continue to observe and learn from the leaders navigating this chaotic landscape, I’m left with one crucial question: How can we turn volatility into our innovation engine?

It’s a question that doesn’t have easy answers. There’s no guaranteed formula. But it’s a question we should all be asking ourselves as leaders. Are we waiting for the world to settle? Or are we building the future on the edge of uncertainty?

If you’re still looking for stability in 2025, you might already be missing the boat. In fact, stability could be the real risk. Because in these volatile times, the leaders who thrive are the ones who embrace chaos, adapt at speed, and trust their instincts.

So, my ask: Who in your leadership team is prepared for this? Who moves quickly? Who hesitates? As I continue to learn from these crises—both big and small—I’m starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this is the best time to create something entirely new.

In the coming weeks, I’ll keep exploring:

• What kind of leadership actually thrives in geopolitical and operational chaos?

• How are the most adaptable APAC teams building local momentum without waiting for global clarity?

• And what can we learn from those who break the rules… and still build trust?

No final conclusions here — just an ongoing chronicle of questions, observations, and leadership in motion.

If that resonates, stay with me. I’ll be sharing more.