Executive summary by Mohamed Al Hashemi | October 7, 2026 | Original Council Post published on Forbes Business Council

Why Leadership Teams Confirm The Economy Far Too Late

The warning can reach every department and still fail to reach the leadership decision. By the time the numbers agree, the commitments may already have been made.

The economy doesn’t surprise good leaders. Their own organizations do.

One Economy, Several Internal Readings

Sales reads customer demand. Finance reads revenue timing and cost. Operations reads capacity and lead times. Each team has a useful view, but each also translates external signals into its own measures. Those reports may all be accurate without describing the same future.

When the views are combined only after a budget has been approved or inventory ordered, the company may be responding to yesterday's assumptions. Waiting for every internal metric to confirm the same story can turn a visible shift into a costly correction.

The Commitment Cycle Matters

The Forbes article uses Target's 2022 inventory correction as a public illustration of the timing problem. Retail procurement decisions happen well before products reach customers. A change in preferences after those decisions may become unmistakable only when options have narrowed.

Make Economic Interpretation a Leadership Responsibility

Before quarterly targets and budgets are finalized, ask sales, finance and operations to state their views of demand, cost and capacity. Reconcile disagreements directly. Assign one person with authority across functions to flag when those readings diverge from each other or from conditions outside the organization.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do leadership teams recognize economic shifts too late?

Each function interprets the signal through its own targets. Without an owner to reconcile those views before commitments are made, leaders may confirm the shift only after plans are difficult to change.

What does economic literacy require from a leadership team?

Compare each function's view of external demand, cost and capacity before setting targets and budgets, then challenge assumptions that cannot all be true at the same time.

Who should reconcile conflicting economic signals?

One named owner with authority across functions should flag when departmental readings no longer agree with one another or the external environment.