ATLANTA 鈥 If things seem crazier than normal, you鈥檙e not alone.
They are particularly volatile in the political and information world, and we can鈥檛 help but be swept up in it. But there are ways to stay sane and prepare your company to evolve, whichever way the political winds blow.
One speaker at the IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show gave good examples for personal and professional sanity.
Patrick Vizzone, founder and managing partner of AgroNovare Holdings, and chair-elect of IFPA, said October 17, that things feel especially tense in the U.S. before this big election.
鈥淭hese are volatile times,鈥 he said. 鈥淚n this shift to globalization, trade peaked just before the pandemic. Media and social media is changing and has amplified this volatility.鈥
As legacy media has become more partisan, and threatened by different kinds of media, it鈥檚 hard to know where to get accurate and unbiased news and information.
鈥淚t鈥檚 harder to get to facts and stay well informed,鈥 Vizzone said. 鈥淒o not rely on social media for all your news. We get fed what we want to hear. You are the product.鈥
He recommends checking on things you see in social media with more reputable sources such as the Associated Press and Reuters news, and I will add The Wall Street Journal. (He also noted me sitting near him and endorsed the non-partisan 黑料吃瓜网 for trustworthy news and information, with which we concur!)
As far as your business, Vizzone said companies that are more flexible and open-minded generally perform better in the marketplace.
But trade could be in for disruption, he said, as a Trump administration in 2025 could see a return of higher tariffs, lower interest rates, and a weaker dollar. While a Harris administration could see complications on non-economic issues of trade, such as emphasis on climate change and DEI.
鈥淔ood trade should not be politicized, but food is always high priority to every country,鈥 Vizzone said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we鈥檒l see de-globalization, but we鈥檙e seeing more regionalization of trade among like-minded countries.鈥
The overall economy is complicated.
鈥淚n the U.S., people think the economy isn鈥檛 good, but it鈥檚 doing really well compared to other countries.鈥
He said the best thing for a produce company to do is prepare for either leader鈥檚 trade priorities, and start planning now for either scenario. And don鈥檛 expect things to calm down.