Run Towards the Storm: Why Buffaloes and Bold Businesses Share the Same Instinct

When a storm brews on the horizon, most animals turn and run, but not the buffalo.

These incredibly powerful creatures do something counterintuitive, they charge into the storm. By heading directly towards the turmoil, they minimise exposure, endure less pain and emerge faster on the other side. Did you know that?

It’s a behavioural instinct that’s easy to admire but incredibly hard to replicate, especially in business, where uncertainty, economic pressure and fear can paralyse even the best teams and most solid foundations.

In 2025, the ability to run toward adversity rather than away from it has become the defining trait of resilient businesses, brave consultants and transformative leaders.

We’re All in the Storm Now

From NHS budget freezes and public sector funding delays to the global economic slowdown, international conflict and tech-fuelled disruption, no sector has escaped the pressure. Whether you’re leading a digital transformation, navigating workforce challenges, restructuring services, or advising on AI and data policy, the storm is no longer on the horizon, it’s here.

In highly regulated industries especially, we are now witnessing slower procurement cycles, tighter margins and unpredictability in the talent market. Geopolitical uncertainty continues to ripple across budgets, behaviours and boardrooms. It’s no wonder that many organisations are beginning to feel paralysed, hesitant to commit, cautious to act and increasingly tempted to wait it out.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth, waiting doesn’t help.

Avoiding the storm doesn’t make it pass quicker, it often means you stay in it longer. Delayed decisions, half-measures and a “wait and see” mindset can leave teams exposed, demoralised and on the back foot just when leadership is needed most.

In this landscape, where uncertainty is the norm and agility is no longer optional, success belongs to those who move towards the challenge, not away from it. To those who stop trying to predict the storm and instead prepare their people, sharpen their delivery and take decisive steps forward.

In the sections that follow, we’ll explore what it means to face adversity head-on, drawing lessons from nature, lived experience and real delivery. We’ll share strategies for consultants, businesses and recruiters who want to build momentum in difficult times and show how being part of the right community can make all the difference.

Storms are unavoidable, but staying stuck in them? That’s a choice.

The Buffalo and the Baby Octopus

It’s not just buffalo that we’re taking inspiration from in this post, we’re going from one extreme to another and introducing the octopus.

While buffalo show us how to face adversity, the octopus reminds us how intelligence and adaptability are critical to survival. A single female octopus can lay up to 100,000 eggs but only a tiny fraction survive to adulthood. It’s estimated that fewer than one in a thousand make it.

Why? Because survival isn’t just about instinct. It’s about strategy.

Octopuses are some of the most intelligent creatures in the ocean. They use tools, solve problems and change their appearance to adapt to threats. They’re masters of disguise and quick thinkers under pressure and that’s exactly what struggling businesses need right now (it also helps having nine brains!)

In a market this complex, survival isn’t about having the biggest budget, the flashiest brand or the largest following on LinkedIn. It’s about agility, creativity and the ability to think your way through the storm, not just power through it.

So what separates the businesses that thrive from the ones that don’t?

It’s the ability to adapt. It’s smart risk-taking. It’s knowing when to camouflage and when to move. Above all, it’s having the right people and the right mindset around you when it counts.

Adversity Is a Direction, Not a Dead-End

Most businesses expend valuable energy trying to predict the storm, analysing market shifts, funding gaps and changing stakeholder demands but the smartest organisations use adversity as a directional tool. They stop trying to sidestep disruption and instead ask...

What is this challenge pointing us towards?

If something is hard, it’s often where the impact lives. If it’s uncertain, it’s often where the opportunity sits. If it’s emotionally uncomfortable? That’s usually a sign you’re leading and definitely not following.

Take Rolls-Royce, for example. After years of stagnation and mounting internal complexity, the company faced tough market conditions, increased shareholder pressure and a global push for greener aviation. Rather than retreat or restructure quietly, Rolls-Royce launched a bold transformation strategy, simplifying its business, investing in innovation and making decisive leadership changes. The result? Not just improved financials, but renewed clarity of direction in one of the most regulated, scrutinised industries on the planet.

That’s what running towards the storm looks like.

It means accepting that uncertainty is part of the process and preparing your people, partnerships and plans accordingly. It’s about getting braver in your decisions, bolder in your messaging and faster in your moves.

So How Do You Run Towards It? (Like A Community Partner)

Here’s how we’re seeing the best in the business lean into the wind...

For Consultants & Advisors, Be More Than a Safe Pair of Hands

This market doesn’t need more theorists. It needs action. Clients are overwhelmed by options but starved for clarity. They need advisors who deliver meaningful results, not just well-designed slides.

Try this:

• Embed early, don’t wait to be ‘fully scoped’. Get your boots on and start shaping.

• Prioritise momentum. Even one quick win builds trust.

• Ditch the jargon and focus on the outcome, especially in complex or politically charged environments. Authenticity always prevails.

For Businesses, Embrace Agility

The era of 5-year plans written in boardrooms and locked in drawers is over. The winners now are those who listen closely, decide quickly and iterate often.

Try this:

• Run live playbooks, not static ones. Build resilience into everyday operations.

• Empower mid-level leaders. Storms are often navigated from the middle, not the top.

• Don’t delay transformation. Fund what delivers now and park what doesn’t.

For Recruiters, Lead the Relationship, Not the Process

This isn’t a volume game anymore. It’s a credibility game. Clients want trusted advisors who understand the real pressure of delivery and talent gaps especially across health, government and high-growth tech sectors.

Try this:

• Be the one who knows what success looks like, not just what the JD says.

• Back your candidates. Don’t just send CVs, send confidence.

• Say no, respectfully, more often. That’s how partnerships deepen.

What We’ve Learnt at Community Partners

At Community Partners, we’re an organisation that has always believed in running towards the storm and trying to adapt (as intelligently as we can) while we do.

It’s the primary reason we built a model that blends expert consulting, outcome-led recruitment and delivery support. Fast, flexible and without the BS and smoke and mirrors.

We are immensely proud to work with a growing network of independent consultants and interim leaders spanning 9 different industries who don’t wait for the dust to settle, they step in when it matters most.

Our model is built on trust, flexibility and delivery. Whether it’s supporting large-scale transformation, navigating complex public sector change, or plugging urgent leadership gaps, we back our clients with people who bring clarity and momentum when it’s needed most.

When our clients face a storm, we don’t hesitate. We‘re available, honest and deliver quickly, at times, within 24 hours.

Final Thought

Adversity isn’t a warning sign, it’s a compass. When the pressure rises, the plan shifts or the risk feels too great, the instinct might be to pause, but that’s exactly when you need to lean in. Somewhere, someone is already moving towards the problem, already shaping the solution and stepping up.

In tough times, it’s better not to go it alone, so being part of a community, especially one built on trust, real-world delivery and a proven track record of scaling businesses, can make all the difference. At Community Partners, we surround our clients with people who’ve been there before, have the scars, who deliver when it counts and who often generate long-term value, even passive income, from doing what they do best.

So don’t wait for the storm to pass. Join the people already moving through it, or better yet, lead the way.

If you’re looking for trusted advisors, critical hires or interim delivery support, let’s talk.

Best Wishes,

Matthew Stevenson, CEO