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Uncertainty is the new normal for the chemical industry, but leaders still need to make smart decisions that drive business forward. Victoria Meyer tackles the critical actions leaders should be taking at the midyear point of 2025, offering strategic advice for operating in volatile markets, maintaining resilient supply chains, and effectively communicating through change. With insights from industry leaders, she highlights the importance of scenario planning, mindful diversification, and strategic cash management while emphasizing the value of strong relationships across the business ecosystem.
Victoria also spotlights the upcoming The Chemical Summit in Houston, which centers on leadership through industry transformation, and explores the internal and external moves executives are using to keep their teams focused and adaptive.
Learn more about these topics this week:
- Midyear Reset: Now is the time to pause, reassess, and recalibrate your business strategies for the rest of 2025
- Leading Through Uncertainty: Unpack the specific challenges chemical companies are facing this year
- Smart leadership moves and the five key actions that drive confident decision-making and resilient operations
- The power of strategic relationships: why reinforcing existing partnerships and building new ones across the supply chain is more important than ever before
- Seizing opportunity in change: Learn how industry leaders are preparing for the unexpected
Killer Quote: “In times of uncertainty, relationships matter. Businesses and people, and it's people that are inside the businesses, need higher levels of trust and confidence in their partners when we're in these periods of uncertainty.” -Victoria Meyer
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Creators and Guests
What is The Chemical Show: Where Leaders Talk Business?
Looking to lead, grow, and stay ahead in the trillion-dollar global chemical industry? The Chemical Show - the #1 business podcast for the chemical industry - is your go-to resource for leadership insights, business strategies, and real-world lessons from the executives shaping the future of chemicals. Grow your knowledge, your network, and your impact.
Each week, you'll hear from executives from across the industry - from Fortune 50 to midsize to startups. You’ll hear how they're tacking today's challenges and opportunities, their origin story (what got them here!), how you can take and apply these lessons and insights to your own business and career.
We talk:
- Business Transformation
- Innovation
- Digitization of business
- Strategy
- Supply Chain
- and so much more
Founder and host Victoria King Meyer is an expert interviewer - who brings out the best in each guest. She gained her industry experience at leading companies, including Shell, LyondellBasell and Clariant. Today, she is a high-performance coach and advisor to business leaders in chemicals and energy, as well as the host of The Chemical Show podcast, and founder of The Chemical Summit.
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https://www.thechemicalshow.com
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Welcome back to The Chemical
Show where Leaders Talk Business.
We're approaching the
mid-year point of 2025.
Well, okay, we're still in
May, but let's get real.
It feels like the middle of the
year, and you started working on this
year's business at the end of 2024,
so it feels like you're approaching
the midpoint of your business plan.
And today is a great
time to focus on that.
It is a mid-year reset.
Smart moves leaders can
take in uncertain times.
smart move number one, register
for the Chemical Summit, which is
taking place September 30th and
October 1st in Houston, Texas.
The focus of this year's
summit is leadership through
industry transformation.
And there is no doubt that our
industry is going through change
and transformation as we speak.
So this is The Chemical Summit
is a leadership conference
by Leaders for Leaders.
We focus on thought leadership on stage
and in the room, and you'll be joined
by leaders from across the industry
talking about things that are really
impactful to business today, like ai.
We call it practical magic and
really how companies are actually
using AI to transform and operate
their business beyond price.
Harnessing strategic levers for
customer growth, right in this period
of uncertainty and oversupply and.
Markets being what they are
having more than just price as a
strategic lever is so critical.
And we've got a panel talking
specifically about that.
And then the third one is rebuilding
supply chains for resilience and growth.
So these are just three examples of
the panels and talks that we will be
having at the Chemical Summit this year.
I hope you can join us.
Visit the chemical summit.com
for more information
and to grab your ticket.
Okay, that was smart move number one.
Let's talk though, um, as we get into
this, about what is happening in 2025 and
what's happened in the first half of 2025.
Right.
So first of all, we entered the year
with hope is what I would say, right?
So whether you called it cautious
optimism, pragmatic confidence,
that was the industry sentiment in
January as we entered the new year.
Recognizing that there was generally
a weaker market oversupply,
particularly in commodities and
plastics, the China effect, right?
Which with its slow demand and
yet continued build, the Europe
effect with the regulations.
And I mean, heck, we have seen a lot of.
Rationalization, right,
as we like to call it.
So shutting down restructuring
assets because of just the
fundamental cost basis there.
So industry in transformation
with some market uncertainty.
That's how we started the year.
And an expectation of change, right?
So we knew that we would have a
new administration, not just in
the US but also across the world.
There's been a number of elections
and changes from a governmental front.
That have frankly
continued on through 2025.
When we think about the US we knew
that there was and expected some
changes at the agency level, right?
So the EPA and elsewhere, what
we've gotten is turbulence
and uncertainty, right?
So tariffs, are they on, are they off?
Doge, department of Government
efficiency, is that what the E was for?
Which has really played a big part in
the government operations as it relates
to EPA, as it relates to other things.
Um, and frankly just this
overall sense of uncertainty.
And, you know, and I know that it's
difficult to operate in uncertainty.
So where is this leftist?
Really with a mixed bag.
When I talk to leaders across the
industry, I get mixed answers, right?
So.
Markets are soft, not so great.
And countering that with our
project pipeline is full.
People are innovating, right?
So two different sides of the equation.
Earnings are solid, right?
So specialty chemicals maybe been
a bit more resilient, maybe I'm
gonna use that cautionary term.
Whereas the more commoditized products
earnings are okay, maybe not great.
You know, some of the
earnings reports were not bad.
That came out for the first quarter.
We haven't yet seen second
quarter earning reports.
We'll see what those come out to be.
But it's been a bit of a mixed
bag from a market perspective.
That's made it difficult to
make big decisions, right?
So the only big decisions we've seen
happening is rationalization, from
some of the biggest companies, and
they're often the, leaders, right?
So let's talk about Bing, uh, the.
The first movers in some of these cases.
So Dow announcing some permanent
shutdowns of facilities.
The ongoing adjustments that are taking
place in rationalization such a pretty
word, uh, for the not so pretty activity
taking place in Europe as companies are.
Really questioning and exiting
and shutting down some of their
chemical operations in Europe.
And I think what we're also seeing is,
you know, these companies starting to
ratchet back, whether it be investments,
whether it is Europe, et cetera.
When I talked to leaders across the
industry though, and I've spent the last
couple of weeks just surveying leaders
across the industry, talking to them about
what are the tactics and approaches that
they are taking to help their businesses.
And their people navigate
these uncertain times.
And as we approach midyear, what are
they doing and what could you and
should you be doing to help lead your
business through these uncertain times?
So I have for you, five SMART moves for
leaders in uncertain times with a bonus.
Six moves.
So stick around 'cause that.
Number six bonus I think is pretty good.
So these moves, by the way, focus
both internally and externally.
'cause I think often when we talk
about business, we talk markets,
we talk, what are we doing?
Because let's be honest, I.
The external world, the buy
sell is what generates revenue
for the most part, right?
And so revenue generating activities
are always critical, and yet we
have an entire ecosystem, an entire
business system that we're running.
And so I think it's important when we
think about these moves that they're both
internal and external to your company.
So number one.
Increase communication, right?
Increase communication and get
really clear on what your goals and
vision are and communicate that.
So what does that look like internally?
It's, um, communicating with your
people and your teams, your goals, your
visions, what you're working towards.
Right.
Your people are probably
experiencing some uncertainty, right?
The media, the tariff situation,
people around them create uncertainty.
Is it gonna be good?
Is it gonna be bad?
Do I have my job?
Do I not have my job?
Your role as a leader
is to create structure.
And clarity, what's changed?
What has not.
80% of your business continues to be the
business, your vision and your strategy.
Continues to be your
vision and your strategy.
Now there's probably some
changes at the margins, right?
But it's probably not a full scale change.
So increase your communication to
create that clarity, to have that
discussion around what's important
and what you're continuing to
do and help people, your teams.
Across the globe, across your company,
have some degree of certainty and
confidence in what they're doing
and what your company is doing,
and what you as a leader are doing.
So that's, that's the internal
piece of communication.
Externally, it's a little
bit of the same thing, right?
With your business partners getting
really clear on your plans and priorities.
So as I've talked with leaders,
you know, the producer distributor
relationship or principle distributor,
relationship partners, people
use different terminology for it.
Um, and alignment of goals and priorities
about how you're going to market, how
you're supporting customers, what's
important to you, with the industry
organizations, with the EPA and others.
And, uh, and I know often in the
industry, a lot of our government
communications and, . Advocacy
happens through our industry groups.
And so I was talking with a leader,
at HCPA recently, so the Household
and Consumer Products Association,
and I said, well, how are, how are you
guys dealing with this uncertainty?
Because there is uncertainty
about what's happening at the EPA.
What's happening with people
that they work with, et cetera.
Um, and a couple things.
Number one, that they are really honing
in and focusing in on communication.
So letter writing, which is
an important thing when you're
dealing with the government, right?
So a lot of documentation has to take
place, but also engaging in person
with the right people on the hill.
So you can be doing this with the right
people, at your customers, at your
business, partners, at your suppliers.
The importance.
And so when I talk to HCPA, it's
around the importance of the industry.
It's companies, it's people,
it's products, right?
So again, when you think
about your company and your
business, it's about that.
What makes it critical and important?
What makes that relationship
between you and your business
partner critical and important?
Restating priorities.
So.
This, this is a bit of a human thing.
In the absence of information, we
make up our own stuff, so, well, you
didn't tell me it was a priority, so
I didn't know it was still a priority.
Right?
Restating your priorities
with your business partners.
With your people team internally
is so critical, Having that clarity
of goals, visions priority is even
more important during uncertainty
because people will make stuff up.
You know this, I know this.
And so having that clarity of what
really matters is smart move number one.
Smart move.
Number two, reinforce relationships.
And I've got a quote from.
Patty Summers, who is global
business director at Z Chem, and
what she says is, in times of
uncertainty, relationships matter.
and what does that mean?
Businesses and people, and
heck, it's people that are
inside the businesses, right?
Need higher levels of trust and
confidence in their partners.
When we're in these periods of
uncertainty, when there's turbulent time.
So from an.
Internal relationship perspective.
It's your business partners, your team
members, the relationships between
sales and customer service, uh, between
business leaders, across business lines,
manufacturing, supply chain, et cetera,
reinforcing those critical relationships
that you have inside of your business,
between people, between departments.
Again, tying back to number one, there's
a reason that I have these in this order.
Number one, clarifying your goals,
your visions, priorities, and then with
that reinforcing your relationships.
So how does it, you know, what does that
look like in business relationships?
It's.
It is that it's the
spending time together.
It's reinforcing why and how you're
working together, why that relationship
matters, how long that relationship
has been in place, what's the trusted
and the fit in your value chain.
It is ever more critical, not just
because of this period of uncertainty,
but secondly because people are
establishing new relationships, right?
So we're gonna get to this a
little bit when I get to 0.4,
but.
You know, there's some diversification
going on and, businesses and customers
are establishing new relationships,
maybe new supply chains, trying to
figure out, well, heck, if tariffs are
hitting X percent over here, I need
to have a different play in in mind.
and you know, I talked to a leader
just recently who said that she'd
had this conversation with one of
their key suppliers, a key business
partner, and she said, remember.
We've been a strategic partner for a
long time, not just when tariffs shift.
So recognize the value in
those relationships, right?
So you're gonna build new relationships.
In fact, you should be
building new relationships.
That is a critical part of this, but
reinforcing the strength and power
and the trust in your relationships
and why you do business with the
companies that you do business with
and the people that you do business
with is critical, and that's smart.
Move number two,
smart move.
Number three is scenario planning.
Right.
So we've been doing this and we've
been talking about this all year.
Scenario planning is
a bit of the what ifs.
So what if tariffs get to be 145%?
Um, by the way, as I've talked
to leaders, nobody had that on
their scenario planning, work
that they had done previously, but
continuing to do scenario planning.
'cause again, we are in
a period of uncertainty.
So when the zig happens, if you will.
So, you know, we move all the way to the.
The upper left quadrant, all
the way to the upper right
quadrant, whatever that is.
I'm not going, you know,
however it looks for you.
the whole point of scenario
planning is to understand what might
happen, what it means to you in
your business, and to have a plan.
So this whole aspect of scenario planning.
It requires regular refreshing, so maybe
you did it at the beginning of the year.
Maybe you did it at the
beginning of the quarter.
Here we are sitting in midyear, and one of
the smart moves that leaders can take is
scenario planning around business supply.
Tariffs, technology,
people, growth, et cetera.
There's a wide range of things
that you could scenario plan
around, pick your three or five.
It doesn't have to be exhaustive, but
understand how you and your business
can and will and should respond.
When a situation occurs,
a scenario comes true.
Smart move number four.
Mindful diversification.
We're really good at
strengthening the core, right?
So 80% of what we do is around the
core, but here we are in a period
of uncertain times and we really
need to have mindful diversification
and, and what does that mean?
That means you're not going wildly
crazy in terms of the businesses
that you're pursuing and what
you're doing, but it's about being.
Strategic, resourceful.
So you know, some areas of diversification
around diversifying supply chains,
continuing to do more work to
understand back to your scenarios,
what supply chains do you need to
have in place to have a robust and
resilient rest of 2025 going into 2026?
Right?
And one of the lessons we learned during
COVID was the importance of relationships,
scenario planning, diversification, right?
So putting all your eggs in one basket.
Is not great.
I think we probably backed away
from some of the diversification
we took on in 2020 and 2021 because
we get a little comfortable, we get
complacent and hey, things look good.
But getting very focused and specific
on diversification of supply chains
is one of the things and one of the
smart moves that you can be making.
The other.
Smart move that companies are making.
And I was talking with
somebody recently about this.
In fact it's gonna come
out, in next week's podcast.
Uh, when I was talking with Sonny Desai
from, uh, from Klein and Company and
what she said, and this makes sense that
companies are doing in their asking is.
What are the products or markets
that I can get into today and to
serve and to bolster and to boost
my business in 2025 and beyond.
Now, by the way, this is
not hand sanitizer, right?
So what do I mean by that?
So if you go back to 2020, in, maybe
even into 2021, it seemed like.
Every company that had the
potential to mix a batch of hand
sanitizer was doing it, whether
they were distilleries, whether
they were chemical companies, right.
People found ways to make hand sanitizer.
It was a very opportunistic
play in a lot of ways.
Number one, we needed the product as.
Right.
We went through a lot of hand
sanitizer in 2020 and 2021.
so that was opportunistic from a demand
perspective, but also just to, to fill the
void of products that you weren't selling.
So where I think we're at right now
and why it's mindful diversification
is around being strategic,
strategic around what products.
That you make that can fit into a
new market, strategic around your
technologies and strategic and
mindful about the relationships.
So this is more about extending your
diversification versus saying, Hey, I
can mix up a batch of hand sanitizer.
Being strategic, and I think part of that
is as well as getting back to my smart
move number one about relationships.
We as leaders should not be whipsawing,
our relationships flowing hot and
cold, being totally opportunistic.
Instead, it needs to be about being
mindful strategic diversification.
Absolutely taking advantage
when you can of, Hey, there's
an opportunity I can go grab.
Great, go grab it.
But understand how you're gonna
back it up, not just in the short
term, but also in the long term.
How does this fit?
Is it a one time opportunity
or does this become the start?
Of a new business opportunity that helps
you build and bolster your relationships,
your diversification, and more so
mindful diversification is smart.
Move number four,
smart.
Move.
Number five is strategic cash management.
So I frame it this way.
About it being strategic cash management,
because this is not necessarily
about slash and burn cost cutting.
Right.
You know, you've been, you know, the
one, and, and we've all been there and
we know it doesn't really work, right?
So it's the cut all travel great, but
you still need to build relationships.
You maybe need to visit your
suppliers and customers, et cetera.
So, so maybe it's reducing travel.
In a very mindful way,
cutting r and d spend.
Well, you know, every time you cut r and
d spend, sure great in the short term, but
then a couple years later you're looking
at it and you're wondering, why don't
I have any innovations in my pipeline?
Well, because you stopped investing.
So, , strategic cash management is really.
Being strategic and deliberate.
Invest and spend appropriately.
Have a clear ROI return on investment,
um, and spend on the things that matter.
People maybe travel innovation for
areas I've identified that companies
are continuing to spend even in
these periods of uncertain time.
Number one is AI in digitization.
In fact, I had a conversation
with somebody today who said,
eh, it's really just AI and.
Digitization has kind of
gotten wrapped into that.
You guys know the drill.
It's, it's a bit of a encompassing
tool and to, and topic.
However, this is about investing in making
your business better, faster, easier.
Now, one of the challenges, and this
has long been a challenge when we
talk about investing in digital,
is, oh, but what's my return?
Sometimes you don't know, but you
make that investment because it's
the right strategic investment
to make, uncertainty in ai.
Yeah.
People, you know, I, I talked to
leaders and they're like, well,
our executive team, our board is
uncertain about investing in AI 'cause
they don't really know what it is.
Well.
Go figure it out.
In fact, if part of your investment is
figuring out what it is and how it's
gonna improve your business, do it.
so that's an area of
investment that's continuing.
Um, continue to invest in
marketing, You can't disappear.
I.
In periods of uncertainty,
you can't disappear.
You have to keep investing.
And in your marketing, in your presence,
in keeping your company, your products,
your value, your people visible, investing
in relationship management, right?
So Zoom is awesome.
But let's be honest, sometimes you have to
go face to face and face-to-face is great.
And as I mentioned earlier, I was
talking with somebody from, uh, HCPA
who talked about how the fact that
we're on the hill, we can go visit
that person and, and spending five
minutes in somebody's presence.
Can be sometimes better
than five hours virtually.
So invest in relationship
management, um, and then investing
in diversification, right?
So back to this whole
strategic cash management.
You can't always make money
without spending money.
So getting very strategic about
where you're willing to invest to
support market diversification,
product diversification, going after
some new businesses is critical.
So strategic cash
management is my smart move.
Number five.
and here's my bonus.
Smart move.
Smart move number six, or the smart Move
bonus, which is around, it's be ready.
Be ready to act.
So how do you get ready?
Clarify your strategy, your
vision, your business, and your
portfolio enhancers, right?
And get ready for strategic deal making.
You know, I had a conversation
earlier today with somebody that said,
well, m and a is cold because, you
know, because of this uncertainty,
uncertainty causes a pause.
And yet what we also see and know.
And people are openly stating, companies
are openly stating that there is very
deliberate restructuring going on, that
companies are exiting non-strategic
businesses, that perhaps they are
moving product production out of maybe
one of their core assets and moving it
to, a toll or a third party supplier
that they're making some moves.
So be ready.
To act fast on smart strategic
opportunities because there
will be opportunities we know,
and you see it every time.
There will be a period of
shifts, portfolio changes,
buying, selling, restructuring.
frankly, it may not actually even be,
there may be no asset sale in place,
but as companies start evaluating.
Cost of doing business, right?
As part of their strategic cash
management, there may be segments
of the market that they don't
feel like they can serve anymore.
That's an opportunity for you to be
ready and when you're clear on your
strategy, your vision, your business
priorities, number one, you can talk
about it as we talked about smart
move number one, about communicating
these things, but also my bonus smart
move is be ready to take action.
Because in these turbulent times.
Smart, strategic fast action often wins.
So that's it for you.
This is your mid-year reset Smart
moves for leaders in uncertain times.
I'd love to hear your feedback.
So connect with me on LinkedIn.
I'm on there as Victoria King Meyer.
If you have some questions,
if you wanna connect and talk
about this further, let's do it.
And in terms of the chemical
show, I am so glad you're here
and so glad that you are part.
Of the chemical show community.
Keep listening, keep following,
keep sharing, and we will
talk with you again soon.