When wars reshape nations, they transform business landscapes too. As we reflect on the sacrifice of those who served, there are surprising insights for today’s business owners in how companies survived or didn’t during times of profound disruption.

I explored this theme during today’s ANZAC Day conversation on radio FIVEaa with Richard Pascoe. It led me down some unexpected paths that I think are worth sharing with fellow business owners.

Business Through the Fog of War

World War I and World War II created seismic shifts in Australia’s business landscape. I get into more detail in the radio segment at the bottom of this page.

The business impact of these wars was profound. During WWI, labour shortages devastated many operations as owners and workers enlisted. The timber industry originally received exemptions but still faced severe shortages. Retail businesses reliant on imported goods like tea suffered as shipping diverted to war efforts. Manufacturing businesses that could pivot to uniforms or munitions survived; others simply vanished.

World War II intensified these patterns. Resources and labour redirected from private industry to military production. Meat works and cold storage facilities were prioritised for military supply, leading to civilian rationing. Retail shops dealing with luxury goods often shuttered completely. Small manufacturers either converted to war production or struggled to survive.

But what’s fascinating, and relevant to us today, is what happened next.

Reading the Post-War Landscape

After each conflict, businesses that anticipated post-war needs often thrived:

Housing and construction boomed as soldiers returned
Hospitality venues that understood the public’s desire for normalcy flourished
Manufacturing firms that could quickly retool from military to consumer goods gained advantage

Sound familiar? It should. The businesses that survived COVID weren’t necessarily the strongest or most established; they were the most adaptable. Those who could read changing conditions and pivot accordingly flourished, while those clinging to pre-pandemic models often struggled.

Let’s unpack this a bit more.

The Constant: Change Itself

What strikes me when studying business through wartime is how the fundamental challenge hasn’t changed, even if the specifics have. Whether it’s wartime restrictions, pandemic lockdowns, or supply chain disruptions from international conflicts, businesses face the same essential test: can you adapt quickly enough to survive when everything around you transforms?

The similarity between post-war adaptation and our post-COVID reality isn’t accidental. Both situations forced rapid evolution in:

Supply chain management (finding alternatives when traditional sources are disrupted)
Workforce adaptation (bringing women into traditionally male roles during WWI/WWII parallels remote work adaptations today)
Product and service pivots (remember whisky distilleries making hand sanitiser during Covid?)
Reading shifting consumer priorities (comfort and normalcy after trauma)

Where Business Meets Civic Life

What moved me most during my ANZAC Day reflections was recognising how businesses don’t exist in isolation from broader societal currents. The merchants, manufacturers, and service providers of wartime Australia were also community members whose sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, fathers, and mothers were serving.

This intersection of business and civic life remains just as relevant today. When I look at the divisive nature of modern discourse, something I touched on in the radio segment regarding historical revisionism on social media, I’m reminded that businesses operate within a social fabric that needs tending.

For those who served in different conflicts, motivations varied dramatically. WWI was often about imperial loyalty and adventure. WWII became about defending our homeland against direct threat. Vietnam represented something more complex, alliance politics and ideological battles.

Today’s business climate has its own complex mix of motivations and challenges. We’re navigating domestic and global disruptions, technological revolutions, and social transformations that would have been unimaginable to the business owners of previous generations.

Watching the Horizon

I mentioned during the radio segment that I’ve been reading Mein Kampf (at the suggestion of my colleague David Olney) to understand certain disturbing patterns emerging in modern politics in Trump’s USA. This wasn’t casual reading. It was an attempt to understand what drives societal upheaval so we can recognise warning signs.

Similarly, business owners today need to be students of broader trends, not just their immediate market. The timber merchant of 1915 who recognised that enlistments would create labour shortages was better positioned than competitors who ignored the writing on the wall. The manufacturer who anticipated post-war construction booms positioned themselves for success.

What signs are we missing today? What patterns are emerging that will reshape our business landscape in the next 3-5 years? These questions deserve our attention.

The Evil of the Few

During my contemplation on ANZAC Day, I found myself at Port Elliot, looking out over our beautiful coastline while reading this challenging historical text. The contrast between our peaceful surroundings and the devastation that certain leaders have wrought throughout history was stark.

It crystallised into a poem that I shared on air, one that captures how quickly normalcy can be shattered when the wrong forces gain momentum:

The Evil Of The Few

I’m sipping whisky on the beachfront, as I step into the fray
To read Hitler under moonlight, to learn what the wretched say
When they take our slice of perfect, and bring darkness into play
As they pour their bitter poison, drive the world to disarray

It’s not the men of vision, who come and disappear
Who leave the world in tatters, and who we forget were here
It’s the broken men, the nasty, the cunning with their sneer
They’re the ones who feed our crazy, and who bind us all with fear

When these men get in power, when the charlatans arise
Our hard won virtues wither, twisted rules materialise
Then we fear one another, you won’t look in my eyes
As these vicious bastards win again, and hope, in many, dies

There’s a cost to beat the bully, and it’s paid for me and you
By those who’d risk the brutal slaughter than face life in servitude
But they need us to be decent, and to do what we can do
To liberate this world again, from the evil of the few

Listen to the interview

Here is the full radio segment with Richard Pascoe on FIVEaa.

What This Means for Your Business

There’s a delicate balance to strike here. On one hand, we don’t want to trivialise the immense sacrifice of service personnel by drawing glib business lessons from wartime. On the other, understanding how businesses navigated profound disruption offers valuable insights.

So what can we take from this reflection?

Cultivate adaptability as your core strength. The businesses that survived wars weren’t necessarily the biggest or wealthiest. They were the most nimble.
Read the terrain beyond your immediate market. Global and national events shape local conditions more than we sometimes acknowledge.
Consider what will be needed “after.” Whatever crisis or change we’re currently navigating, there will be an after. Positioning for that future is often where opportunity lies.
Recognise the interconnection between business and civic life. The health of our communities and the health of our businesses are interdependent in ways that transcend simple economic metrics.
Maintain an ethical north star. In times of disruption, it can be tempting to compromise values for short-term gain. The businesses remembered most fondly after crises are often those that maintained their integrity throughout.

We honour those who served not just by remembering their sacrifice, but by building communities and businesses worthy of what they defended. Places where people can flourish in freedom and fairness.

Whether navigating wartime restrictions, pandemic lockdowns, or whatever challenges tomorrow brings, the lesson remains: read the landscape carefully, adapt accordingly, and never lose sight of the human purpose at the heart of all worthwhile enterprise.

Lest we forget.

ANZAC Day and Business: What War Teaches Us About Adapting to Disruption