No, you can’t wait until the midterms

In this issue:

• The newsletter name cometh

• Make smart decisions now, before the midterms

• The Year of the Fire Horse

• Is gamification ruining your life?

• Why we want meaning from work

When I scheduled this topic back in November, my answer was wildly different from what you’ll read below. 

In November, or even a week ago, I would have written about the uncertainty that comes with running a small business, global macroeconomics, and the political environment. You know, the droll commentary about business realities today that makes me say, yes, I am fun at parties. 

We were already dealing with a lot. But this week was different. 

For myself and others, we’re now wrestling with bigger, scarier questions: 

“Are we safe here? Is the money I saved for retirement going to disappear if the US invades Greenland, because apparently that’s a real thing now?! Is the world economy going to collapse? Are we going to face hyperinflation? Do we really need to carry identification papers? Also, wait, did the chair of the Fed really just get indicted?”

Sure, I’ve had fearful moments, but I didn’t feel in imminent danger before last week. Most of us didn’t. But in the past week, every member of my team was impacted by federal immigration actions. Workers were snatched off my block. Two members of the team experienced warrantless door-knocking. It’s not the kind of business disruption that’s outlined in the PTO policy.

Currently, we’re dealing with a whole new level of stuff -- some parts are noisy, some parts are real, and some parts present genuine threats. Your abundance mindset needs to coexist with the reality of your physical safety. 

So, if this is where you’re at, know I’m right there with you. 

At the same time, while we are not giving into fear, this is a time for vigilance and steely-eyed realism. We need to find a way through dysregulation and functional freeze, to answer a different set of hard questions. Because you cannot wait until the midterms or the next election to make decisions.

The midterm elections are the first week in November. We’re in the first month of 2026. That’s 11 months.

Would you ever let your business strategy ride for 11 months without:

• Changing something?

• Doing something?

• Evaluating something?

No, you wouldn’t. If that’s how you’re running your business, that’s bonkers. 

If you’re running a rapidly growing business (or would like to be), you should be reviewing your strategic performance monthly -- or even weekly. If you’re a stable business, even under the best of circumstances, you still should have a strategy look-back quarterly.

At the same time, we can realistically expect 11 months of chaos. What should you be looking at?

First, separate what you can control from what you can’t control.

You can talk to your customers. You can focus on business development. You can be intentional about what reliable news sources you’re reading each day -- because you should not be reacting moment-by-moment to half-baked or false reports on X or Threads. (But also, follow me on Threads.)

Now, when chaos is the norm, is the time to you ask yourself:

• Do I need to check in more often with clients?

• Do I need to change how often I’m checking in with prospects?

• Do I need to look at my financials more frequently?

• Do I need to review my staffing on a more regular basis?

You can’t make every decision about your entire business every single day, based on the news cycle, so timebox your decision-making.

For example, if you were originally going to hire in January, but are now having second thoughts, don’t ask yourself that question every morning, “just in case” something changes. You’ll go crazy. 

Instead, say: “I will look at this again on March 1.” Then move on.

If you’re a primarily a product-based business with physical goods, you need to answer these questions: 

• At what point don’t you have business anymore?  

• How much inventory do you have right now, and when will it run out? 

• What is your cash flow, and will it be enough to acquire or make new product under these conditions? 

• What is the last day you have to make an informed decision before a choice is made for you, because you’re out of options? 

In a services business, these questions might be around covering payroll and core overhead expenses. Answering these questions now is how you’ll give yourself a better chance to stay above water.

If you’re worried about annoying people -- clients, prospects, etc. -- by contacting them too much, let that go. We all have the good sense not to blow up everyone’s phone daily to ask, “How about today? Ready to buy today?” 

In uncertain times, you need a bigger pipeline. And because you’re also a thoughtful human, you also care about your people: 

• “With everything going on, I know work can’t be easy. Are you doing OK?”

• “I know this affects your job, how can I support you?”

• “I hear your concerns about your safety, what can I do to help?”

• “I know you have (X life event), how can I be a resource for you?”

You are a transformational leader, not a transactional one. This is your moment to build personal relationships through genuine trust and care, as the world changes rapidly around all of us. We are a community of human beings first, who also happen to have jobs and businesses. 

Yes, taxes and compliance are painful, and feel like an even bigger stick in the eye when the federal government is refusing to send money back to your state to pay for promised disaster relief, child care, and food. 

At the same time, the number one concern I get about taxes is, “Will I go to jail?” While it’s hard to go to jail for making an error on your taxes, refusing to acknowledge the federal government’s tax authority is an express ticket to the pokey. There are better ways to protest, that don’t put a fat and obvious target on you.

And If you haven’t noticed, this administration is big on petty retribution. 

Pay your estimated taxes. Pay your state taxes. Pay your payroll taxes. Stay on top of your compliance.

Unfortunately, the concept of chaos has become evergreen. What I wouldn’t give for a single precedented news event. Remember the tan suit? Those were simpler times.

But the absence of a plan as your baseline is going to make it significantly harder for you to react to changes and understand how they affect you. 

I get the desire to say, “Everything is chaos, throw it all out.” 

I did that last February with my content plan, and it did not go well. At the time, I was worried about being on top of every whipsawed change in the business environment. If every week’s topic got bulldozed by a rocky pile of new rules, why have one? That was the wrong move, and the net result was both an emotionally-driven hodgepodge and an inconsistent delivery schedule. 

Remember, the purpose of planning isn’t to trap you. Planning, when done well, will ground you when you need to react, and help you see more clearly what needs to be adjusted. 

So, at least, make a Plan A. Will there be a plan A1.1.2? Yup. Maybe even a Plan B. But having a plan will free you from holding every possibility in your head all day, every day. 

In these unprecedented times, hitting the pause button in your business until the coast clears isn’t an option.

We’re almost through the annual crunch. 

• February 2: Filing deadline for 1099s and W-2s

  • RESOURCE: What you need to know about 1099s

  • RESOURCE: What’s changed with W-2s for this year

  • In most states, the filing date and delivery date are now the same. 

• February 16: Presidents Day federal holiday

• New tariffs: Speaking of retribution, the president decided last weekend to levy a 10% tariff on goods from eight of the largest NATO allies from February 1, unless they agree to give or sell him Greenland. That tariff would increase to 25% on June 1.  Tariffs are a tax on you, not these countries. Unless…

• Supreme Court ruling on tariffs: Just two weeks ago, I shared the story of a business owner who is stuck waiting on a Supreme Court decision about tariffs, while she has product sitting off-shore. Any day now, the Supreme Court could rule on the legality of “emergency” tariffs. 

• Layoffs and inflation: Next reports on Thursday, January 22.

The Lunar New Year is bringing in the Fire Horse, and the groundwork starts now. Whether or not you adhere to ancient guidance, the message is universal. 2025 was the Year of the Snake - - it was a year that asked us to slow down, look inward for clarity, and shed what is no longer useful to us so we can move forward. And move forward we must, because on February 17, we enter the Year of the Horse. (The Fire Horse, so it’s going to run like it ate a jalapeño.) The Horse of 2026 tells us we must move forward with courage and pace. So, let’s get moving.

Philosopher C. Thi Nguyen says we’re thinking about data all wrong. When does data help us, and when might it hurt? This podcast interview with sports journalist Pablo Torre starts off with games, scoring, and gamification, but it quickly moves on to how to define, play, and win a game that’s meaningful to you. If you like this interview, Nguyen’s new book The Score is available now.

Why do we want meaning from our work? I was feeling philosophical this week, so here’s another pod from futurist Sinead Bovell and an existential psychologist. (I didn’t know that was a job, either.) They ask why it’s so important for humans to attach actions with impact, and to look for purpose and meaning in work. But what will give us meaning as technology continues to outpace what we believed to be true about our identity and work?