“You don’t need me to tell you that the world feels faster, noisier, and more unpredictable than ever,” says director at Ycagel, Jacqueline van Rooijen.
“For many business owners and leaders, it’s like trying to steer a ship while the tide changes direction every few minutes. Markets shift. Customer expectations evolve overnight. Teams look to you for clarity… but you’re still trying to get your own bearings.”
“And here’s the quiet truth that few will admit,” she continues, “the hardest part isn’t the workload, it’s the mental whiplash of constant change. You can’t plan three years out when the next three months feel like a guessing game.”
In times like these, the traditional ‘wait until we’re sure’ approach doesn’t work.
Perfection is too slow. Over-analysis wastes time. And yet, rushing blindly ahead feels reckless.
So how do you move forward when the path isn’t clear?
“Here’s what I’ve seen work, time and again,” shares van Rooijen:
“Start small. Move fast. Learn loud!”
“Instead of betting the whole business on one big plan, break your thinking into short, sharp experiments,” she advises:
- Launch a pilot project.
- Test a new message with a small audience.
- Trial a change internally before rolling it out company-wide.
Van Rooijen believes that each small action becomes a data point, a breadcrumb leading you toward what actually works, without the paralysis of holding out for the ‘perfect’ plan.
This approach is more than a tactic. It’s a mindset shift. You stop needing certainty before you act. You start building certainty as you go.
“In my experience, people thrive when they can see progress,” she elaborates. “It’s also deeply human – small wins calm anxiety and rebuild confidence in uncertain times. Your team will rally faster around action that they can feel and measure, rather than a perfectly polished plan that sits on a shelf.”
If you’re wrestling with indecision right now about launching a new offer, pivoting your marketing, or rethinking your growth strategy, ask yourself:
- What’s the smallest version of this idea I can test this week?
- What will I measure to know if it’s working?
- Who needs to be looped in early to give it the best chance of success?
The goal isn’t to avoid mistakes. It’s to make the right ones, quickly, so they teach you something useful. Every test – even the ones that ‘fail’ – sharpens your strategy.
And here’s the unexpected bonus: when your customers and clients see you responding fast and adapting well, their trust in you grows. Not because you always get it right, but because you never leave them waiting for your next move.
“If you’re feeling the weight of uncertainty right now, remember – clarity rarely comes before action. It’s built through action,” advises van Rooijen.
One decision. One test. One next step at a time.
“Because, in a world that’s constantly changing, the safest place to be is already moving,” she concludes.
Jacqueline van Rooijen is a strategic leadership advisor, high-performance sales coach and founder of The Elite Edge – a 90-day executive programme designed to help growth-stage CEOs, sales leaders, and founders scale with clarity, cohesion, and conviction.
