“We’re going to wait until after the election before making any big decisions.”
If you are a business owner or executive, chances are you have heard or maybe even said some version of that sentence. Over two decades of coaching business leaders, I’ve heard it during virtually every election cycle.
Hiring gets postponed. Capital investments get delayed. Expansion plans are placed on ice.
It feels prudent. It feels cautious. But it raises a critical question every leader must confront: What exactly are you waiting for?
The Illusion of Certainty
It is easy to understand the hesitation. Elections have real consequences: tax rates, regulatory environments, interest rates, government spending, and economic policies can all shift depending on who holds office.
However, many leaders fall into what we call The Illusion of Certainty.
When the future feels volatile, holding off on major decisions feels like a responsible way to manage risk. But will the election results actually bring the clarity you are seeking?
Even after the results are in, new uncertainties immediately take their place:
- Which proposed policies will actually pass into law?
- How quickly will regulatory changes take effect?
- How will interest rates shift, and how will your competitors and customers respond?
Before you know it, the discussion shifts to the next election or the next economic concern. Uncertainty isn’t a temporary disruption in business, it is a permanent state. Inflation, labor shortages, emerging technologies, and shifting markets will always exist. If you wait for absolute certainty before making your next move, you will be waiting forever.
Inaction is a Risky Choice
Many business owners believe that delaying decisions avoids risk. In reality, inaction is not the absence of risk, it is a choice to accept a different set of risks.
While your plans remain on pause, consider what happens around you:
- Your competitors keep moving. They may be hiring the key talent you need, acquiring the customers you want, or developing products that leave you behind.
- Your operational issues persist. Inefficient processes don’t fix themselves while you wait. Underperforming team members remain underperforming, and lost operational momentum is rarely recovered easily.
- You lose unrecoverable time. Every month you delay making necessary improvements is a month of lost growth.
The cost of waiting may not show up as a line item on your financial statements, but it is very real.
You Don’t Need Certainty—You Need a Plan
Moving forward does not mean acting recklessly or ignoring realities. There are times when delaying a specific expenditure makes sense, especially if an impending policy directly targets your industry.
However, there is a fundamental difference between a deliberate, strategic hold and paralysis caused by uncertainty.
Instead of putting your company in idle, focus on scenario planning:
- Model different outcomes: What adjustments will you make if tax rates increase? What is the contingency if interest rates stay elevated?
- Build operational resilience: Prepare your business to adapt swiftly regardless of policy changes.
Good planning isn’t about predicting the future with 100% accuracy; it’s about building a business resilient enough to respond to whatever happens.
Focus on What You Can Control
Regardless of who controls Congress, there are foundational aspects of your business that remain completely within your control:
- Strengthening your sales process and customer retention
- Developing your leadership team and middle management
- Optimizing cash flow and working capital
- Eliminating operational bottlenecks and upgrading internal systems
None of these core improvements require knowing who wins an election.
In 20+ years of advising business owners through recessions, inflationary periods, and political shifts across both major parties, one pattern is clear: Successful business owners do not wait for the world to become predictable. They evaluate risks, adjust their strategies, and keep moving forward.
A Tale of Two Businesses
Imagine two business owners working over a 6-month period.
- Owner A froze all major initiatives to wait for post-election clarity.
- Owner B acknowledged the uncertainty, created contingency plans, and spent those six months improving sales, leadership, and operational efficiency.
Which business will be in a stronger position six months down the road?
The Biggest Threat to Your Business
The biggest risk to your business isn’t who wins the election, it’s what you fail to do. The election will pass, policies will evolve, and new reasons to worry will emerge. But time spent waiting is lost forever.
Instead of asking what you are going to do after the election, ask yourself the question that actually matters: What should we be doing right now?
Author: Mark McNulty, Business Coach in Louisville, KY