If Tariffs Are Impacting Your Business, Your Business Acumen Solution Needs to Change

That’s not a provocation—it’s a practical filter.

Tariffs are back, and they’re already driving up costs, delaying capital projects, and creating friction in pricing conversations. If any of that sounds familiar, the question isn’t whether your people are feeling the pressure. It’s whether your learning programs are helping them respond.

Not sure? Start by asking the right people.

• Ask your finance team how tariffs are hitting the P&L.
• Ask your procurement team what’s happening to supplier pricing.
• Ask your sales team how customers are responding to price changes.

If the answer is yes—tariffs are creating real impact—then your business acumen solution needs to change. It should help people navigate those real-world complexities—not sidestep them.

A business acumen solution that ignores tariffs presents a simplified picture of how business works. It’s 2D. Tariffs are part of the full landscape—ignoring them means leaving out a critical part of the terrain your people are operating in.

What Tariffs Are Disrupting

We’ve broken down these ripple effects in a 3-part blog series covering where tariffs tend to hit hardest:

• Part 1: Raw Materials – How cost shocks drive sourcing and pricing decisions
• Part 2: Cash Flow – What happens when liquidity gets squeezed
• Part 3: CapEx & Strategy – How long-term plans get reshaped under tariff pressure

If any of this sounds familiar, these posts can help you connect the dots—and see where your training may need to adapt.

How It Shows Up Inside the Business

You might already be seeing (or hearing) the signs:

• A capital project gets paused
• Supplier quotes keep shifting
• A sales leader asks how to explain a price increase

These aren’t abstract concerns—they’re ripple effects from tariffs, similar to what we’ve explored in our recent blog posts on tariffs.

Here’s where tariff-related strain tends to surface most clearly:

• Raw Materials – Tariffs will inflate input costs overnight. That forces sourcing teams to reconsider vendors, volumes, and timing—sometimes without warning.
• Cash Flow – Higher upfront costs and delayed receivables stretch liquidity. If tariffs trigger mismatches between POs and invoices, your team may be chasing payments or managing unexpected float.
• CapEx – When tariffs apply to imported equipment or construction materials, big investments get reconsidered. Teams may delay spending, adjust depreciation schedules, or scale back plans—sometimes mid-project.

If raw materials, cash flow, or CapEx are coming up in your business meetings, it’s worth asking: Are tariffs part of the story? It could be one—or all—of the above.

Who Needs To Understand the Impact of Tariffs

If your business is dealing with tariff-driven cost increases, delivery delays, or price pressures, your people are already feeling it—whether they’re in frontline operations, finance, commercial roles, or part of your leadership pipeline.

That includes:

• Managers who negotiate pricing or supplier terms
• Project leads whose timelines or budgets are shifting
• Sales and account teams who need to justify changes to customers
• Leaders trying to align decisions across departments

If tariffs are creating pressure in one part of the business, they’re affecting judgment and coordination in others. That’s who needs better business acumen—now.. And if external forces like tariffs, interest rates, or regulatory changes affect those decisions? Your business acumen training needs to match that complexity.

How Income|Outcome Brings Tariffs Into the Business Conversation

Income|Outcome simulations offer more than theory—they give participants the experience of running a business under real-world pressure. Participants work in cross-functional teams, manage the full business cycle, and make decisions that impact pricing, sourcing, investment, and margins.

When tariffs are relevant, we bring them in one of two ways:

🟦 As a discussion module

• Inside a financial literacy workshop 6 hours or longer
• Inside IO | Second Exposure*

🟩 As simulation dynamics

• IO | Tariffs & Cash Flow: A standalone experience focused on pricing, sourcing, and strategic reaction
• IO | Second Exposure + Tariffs: For teams who’ve already experienced the core simulation and are ready to grapple with added complexity, shifting conditions, and competitive consequences

Bottom Line

If your participants are facing tariff-related pressure in the business, their business acumen training should reflect it.

Let’s talk about how to make that happen.

Talk to Us or Request a Demo

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