The 2026 Outlook: Navigating Geopolitical Chaos & the New Growth Playbook

The first week of 2026 has already started with a bang. From the seizure of oil assets in Venezuela to the shifting role of the US dollar, the "win-win" era of global trade is rapidly transitioning into a fractured, zero-sum game. For small and medium-sized businesses, the old playbook of endless SKU expansion and domestic-only focus is no longer enough to guarantee survival.

In this episode, Steve Weyer and Jeff Hamilton look into the geopolitical pillars driving uncertainty this year and provide a roadmap for how enterprise leaders can hardwire their supply chains for resilience. We explore the rise of "State Capitalism," where governments pick winners and losers, and discuss why the most successful companies of the next decade will be those that look toward the high-growth markets of the Global South and Southeast Asia.