When Hurricane Helene swept through Western North Carolina, rivers overflowed their banks, roads washed away, and businesses—from downtown storefronts to rural farms—were left to assess the cost. The floodwaters didn’t just rearrange the land; they revealed something deeper. Change, disruption, and uncertainty are forces no business can fully control, but ones that every business must learn to navigate.

Whether it’s historic flooding, economic shifts, political upheaval, or technological disruption, Western North Carolina’s business community isn’t facing isolated challenges—we’re experiencing a long-term transformation.

This new reality demands a mindset shift—away from the old win/lose, head-to-head competition model and toward a new approach rooted in strategy, flexibility, and collaboration. Surprisingly, one of the best guides for this shift comes from an unlikely source: Sun Tzu’s The Art of War*: “As water's flow follows the form of the land, so, too, the winning army varies its tactics, adjusting to the enemies' formations.”

At its core, The Art of War is a guide to strategy—not just reacting to conditions, but positioning yourself to thrive in unpredictable environments. Adaptability—the ability to adjust quickly to changing markets, supply chains, and customer expectations—isn’t a fallback. It’s a core part of every successful strategy. “In general, you must adapt to whatever changing situations may arise,” wrote Sun Tzu.*

Three Strategic Lessons from Sun Tzu for WNC Businesses

1. Know the River You’re In

In Western North Carolina, your biggest challenge isn’t always your competition. More often, it’s economic uncertainty, climate instability, and supply chain shifts that are reshaping the region. Successful businesses anticipate these forces and adjust early, rather than waiting to react.

Markets, supplies, customer demand, and workforce availability all ebb and flow, much like tributaries feeding into a larger river. The businesses that adapt by shifting product offerings, building flexible supply chains, preparing for climate-related disruptions, and embracing technology will be the ones best positioned to weather future shocks.

This means looking beyond your immediate industry and paying attention to shifts in tourism trends, labor availability, and environmental conditions that ripple across the local economy. Businesses that actively scan for these signals can shift course before the water rises.

2. Adaptability Is Strategy in Action

The businesses that made it through Helene weren’t always the biggest or best-funded. They were the ones that adapted fastest, adjusting products, services, supply chains, and customer outreach to fit new conditions.

For WNC businesses, being able to pivot—whether by rethinking tourism offerings, sourcing locally, or responding to climate-related shifts—is no longer optional. The companies that stay afloat are the ones that learn to ride each new wave of change rather than clinging to the shore.

Embedding adaptability into company culture by encouraging creative problem-solving, building partnerships, and maintaining contingency plans prepares businesses to shift operations quickly when disruptions come.

3. Collaboration Over Combat

Here in Western North Carolina, community is our greatest asset. No single business can withstand climate events, infrastructure challenges, or workforce shortages alone. But when businesses, associations, and public agencies collaborate, they create shared resilience, ensuring the entire region benefits when one sector or community innovates.

We’ve already seen this in action through business associations advocating for infrastructure funding and local businesses partnering with conservation groups to protect the natural assets that drive tourism and economic growth.

When floodwaters rise, no business can build a levee alone. Shared resilience comes from working together to direct the flow, rather than fighting it.

The future of our region’s economy will depend less on cutthroat competition and more on collaborative solutions to shared challenges.

Riding the Rapids Together

The businesses, nonprofits, and community leaders who will succeed in the new Western North Carolina aren’t the ones fighting the floodwaters. They’re the ones reading the currents, working together, and adapting to where the water is already going.

As Sun Tzu* reminds us: “Know the enemy; know yourself, and you will meet with no danger in a hundred battles.”