When the rug gets pulled: how CEOs can pivot through sudden shocks

You wake up to the kind of news that punches you in the stomach before your feet even hit the floor. Your biggest client has gone bust. Or they’ve cut ties with no warning, citing “strategic shifts” or some other vague corporate euphemism. One minute you’re coasting along, and the next, your revenue projections have fallen off a cliff.

It’s rare—but it happens. Just ask the British businesses recently caught off guard by Trump’s sudden imposition of 25% tariffs on UK exports to the US. Overnight, prices have soared, deals have stalled, and margins have evaporated. And all because someone on the other side of the world decided to shake the snow globe.

When these external shocks hit—completely outside your control—they force a reckoning. How do you pivot when the world moves the goalposts without asking you first?

Fight or flight: how will YOU respond?

If it’s not a tariff, it might be a supply chain collapse, a global pandemic (remember that?), or a tech breakthrough that suddenly makes your product obsolete. What’s a CEO to do when the rug gets pulled out from under their strategy? Do you curl up in a ball, blame the politicians, and hope for the best? Or do you grab the wheel, pivot hard, and navigate to calmer waters?

We won’t dwell on Trump or politics. This is about what you can control. How do you build a resilient business that isn’t over-reliant on a single customer or market? How do you lead confidently through ambiguity and sudden change? Buckle up – it’s time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Over-reliance: a disaster waiting to happen

Let’s start with a harsh truth: if more than half of your revenue comes from a single customer or market, your business is a house of cards in a windstorm. Sure, it feels great to have that one big client or booming market. It’s like having a golden goose that lays golden eggs. But what happens when the goose flies away or gets hit by a trade-war bullet? Splat. Relying on one major revenue source is like building your castle on quicksand. It might look solid, but when the ground shifts, down you go.

Don’t assume you’re safe just because that big client is happy now. Their fortunes could change, or they could simply leave. It’s business, not personal. So ask yourself the uncomfortable question: “If we lost our biggest customer (or market) tomorrow, what would happen?” If your answer is “take a major hit” or, worse, “close up shop,” you’ve got a glaring vulnerability. Far better to face that truth now than to learn it the hard way later.

Let’s take Mudano, for example, a fabulous client of mine that I enjoyed working with immensely. A consulting and software business, they scaled quickly to a £15 million turnover in just three years thanks to a very smart piece of software that could identify when IT projects were at risk of running behind schedule or over budget. All was going great, and they were preparing for a sale to Accenture. The catch? 95% of their revenue came from one client. When the software that Mudano offered as a service flagged that none of that client’s IT projects were going to deliver on time, the client hit the brakes—stopping all IT spend for a quarter, including their spend with Mudano. Talk about shooting the messenger. Revenue: £5 million to zero, just like that.

Mudano had a two-day strategy session planned in with us far in advance, and this news broke just before they came to the Management Lab. The brief for that session suddenly became much more urgent: “Find £5 million in 90 days or the Accenture acquisition is toast.” Together, we built a focused, urgent sales plan. They executed. Found the £5 million. Saved the deal. And, eventually, the original client came back too. But the lesson? You don’t want to be scrambling to replace 95% of your revenue in three months. Diversification isn’t optional—it’s oxygen.

Diversification: your shock absorber

If over-reliance is the dynamite that can blow up your business, diversification is the blast shelter that can save it. The concept is simple: don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spread your bets. Build a broader, balanced portfolio of customers, markets, and products so that when one falters, others can pick up the slack.

Companies that weather shocks well usually have multiple revenue streams or customer segments. When one stream dries up, another might still be flowing. During the pandemic, for example, some restaurants survived by switching to delivery or meal kits when in-person dining vanished. Diversification is your insurance policy against surprises.

• Customer diversification: Build a broad customer base so that no single client is make-or-break. If you’re B2B and live off a few whale clients, start courting some mid-sized fish too – a school of smaller fish can keep you fed if a whale swims away.
• Market diversification: Expand into new regions or sectors. If you’re killing it in one country or industry, consider developing a foothold in another. Different markets often have different cycles; a slump in one could coincide with a boom in another.
• Product or service diversification: Think about what else you can offer your customers that aligns with your core strengths. Look for complementary products or services. The idea isn’t to chase every shiny object or abandon your niche; it’s to have a backup if one product line falls out of favour.

Rapid experimentation: pivoting at pace

So you’ve shored up your business with diversification – good. But what about when you actually need to pivot right now? In a crisis or industry shake-up, speed is your best friend. Forget the five-year plan – you need quick testing and a get-it-done mindset. Think like a startup: try something on Monday, and if it fails, try something else by Friday.

Rapid experimentation means placing a bunch of small bets and seeing what pays off. Set up pilot projects. Kill the ones that don’t work. Double down on the ones that do. It’s messy, but it’s effective. Better to be running like a bag of spanners than looking regal while standing still.

All hands on deck: break down the silos

When a sudden change hits, it will cut across your whole business – you need input and action from every corner, fast. Think like an emergency response: set up a “war room” with people from every department. No silos. No politics. Just action.

Decentralised decision-making speeds things up. Encourage your team leaders to make decisions without needing layers of sign-off. You’ll move faster, learn quicker, and adapt more effectively.

Purpose and values: your North Star in the storm

In the chaos of a forced pivot, one thing can keep you oriented: your purpose and core values. These act as your compass. When you’re not sure what to do, ask: “Which option stays true to our mission?”

A strong purpose also helps you explain your pivot coherently. Instead of looking like you’re flailing, you can frame the change as continuing to fulfil your mission in a new way. The strategy might change, but the mission stays the same.

Leading through ambiguity with confidence

Let’s not sugarcoat it: leading through a forced pivot is hard. Pressure comes from all sides – investors want answers, employees need reassurance, and you might be running on little sleep. This is when you earn your keep as a leader.

Communicate constantly and clearly. Even if you don’t have all the answers, share what you do know. Be decisive. Waiting for perfect information is a luxury you don’t have. And be visible. Your people need to see that you’re engaged and leading from the front.

Conclusion: thriving on chaos

The companies that thrive in chaos aren’t the ones that avoid every shock – they’re the ones that prepare for upheaval, adapt quickly, and find opportunity in the rubble. You can’t control the crisis, but you can control your response.

So take a hard look at your business. Where are you vulnerable? What single point of failure are you depending on too much? If this made you uneasy, you’ve got work to do.

Because the next shock isn’t a question of “if,” but “when.” When it hits, will you be ready?

Remember, pivoting in a crisis isn’t admitting defeat. Often, it’s the only way to survive—and emerge stronger. So when the rug gets pulled, don’t waste time trying to put it back. Get yourself a few new rugs, ones that are less likely to vanish from under your feet.

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Written by business coach and leadership coaching expert Dominic Monkhouse. Contact him to schedule a call here. You can order your free copy of his book, Mind Your F**king Business here.