Thought Leadership
Thank you Trump – you teach us to understand ourselves
20. January 2025
By Thomas Varan
Trust is in free fall. Change is on the horizon
The Fear & Greed index is flashing red, rapidly approaching the EXTREME FEAR category. The Doomsday Clock was recently set at 90 seconds to midnight – the closest mark to a global catastrophe since 1947. And as if a potential worldwide crisis wasn’t enough, Trump has found time to throw a trade war at Denmark (and the rest of the EU) as “thanks” for not letting him buy Greenland. Not exactly the kind of headlines you want, but thank you Trump – you’re teaching us to understand ourselves and our place in a new, bizarre reality.

Thank you Trump – you teach us to understand ourselves
Trust is in free fall. Change is on the horizon.
We are very much in control
According to Kristian Cedervall Lauta, author of Disasters and What They Can Teach Us About Ourselves, the scale of a disaster is often determined long before the event itself. This is due to the way we organize ourselves, which can either mitigate or escalate the damage of a crisis. The same is true in a business. If a CFO isn’t actively working on risk management, supply chains, supplier relationships and operational flexibility now, they’ll be busy when disaster strikes. And there’s always that one backward-looking person in the boardroom shouting, “I told you so!” Let’s be honest: Few people need that kind of lecturing finger pointing when you’re in the middle of downsizing.
The automotive industry – a study in future changes
Artificial intelligence: Next stop – a new division of labor
What do you do as CFO?
- Reduce OPEX: Review your running costs. How can you cut IT costs without compromising quality and the bottom line?
- Reduce CAPEX: slim down your balance sheet. Consider turning large investments into flexible leasing or pay-as-you-go models.
- Build a flexible IT foundation: It’s hard to predict the future, but you can prepare your business to scale costs, projects and resources up and down as things change. Ditch monolithic systems that lock you in and go for solutions that can scale and integrate quickly.
In a nearshore context, this can mean utilizing external IT talent that can be scaled up or down in no time. Why not use uncertain times as an opportunity to rethink recruitment and IT strategy?