Becoming the Issachar CEO: Leading with Foresight in a Time of Uncertainty

It’s not every day that a C-suite leader turns to 1 Chronicles for advice, but there’s something here for us. 1 Chronicles chapter 12 describes each of the tribes of the nation of Israel as they moved their allegiance from the house of Saul to the newly crowned King David. The scripture recounts an impressive array of warrior clans ready to fight for their new king, until it reaches the tribe of Issachar, described in verse 32 as “men who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.”

Imagine King David, freshly crowned and surrounded by his fiercest officers—yet it was Issachar’s perspective, not their power, that stood out. Their unique gift? Insight. The ability to see beyond what others noticed.

Here’s what I take from this old story: effective strategy begins with clear vision—both internally and externally. The Issachar CEO isn’t just an operator—he’s a leader who calmly and without prejudice interprets the times, anticipates the future, and aligns his organization accordingly. Issachar CEOs focus on growth rooted in knowledge.

The Issachar CEO Mindset

An Issachar CEO combines three distinct abilities:

• Inside Insight: A clear-eyed view of what’s happening within the four walls of the business—performance, people, and profitability.

• Market Awareness: A data-driven understanding of economic trends and industry shifts—not just surface-level headlines or gut feel.

• Decisive Action: Turning knowledge and insight into strategy and execution—then measuring the outcomes.

Avoiding the Traps

Like King Saul, who David replaced after he was killed in a battle, most CEOs don’t fail because of ignorance—they falter because of partiality. Two of the biggest traps:

• Confirmation Bias: Only accepting data that validates what you already believe.

• Water Cooler (or Golf Course) Economics: Letting headlines, opinions, or rumors substitute for fundamental market analysis and conclusions.

The Issachar CEO avoids both by grounding decisions in objective economic data and dependable leading indicators.

How to Lead Like an Issachar CEO

1. Adopt The Growth Gears: Build your growth engine with Insight (Gear 1), Strategy (Gear 2), and Execution (Gear 3), and do so in linear order. Don’t let execution run ahead of insight or strategy. Do so, and you’ll be guilty of conducting random acts of marketing and sales. You’ll also waste a lot of money and resources.

2. Engage an Economic Compass: My colleagues at ITR Economics taught me years ago about the vital importance of utilizing rates of change (ROC), specifically the 3/12 and 12/12 ROC, to determine a company’s economic phase and trajectory. You may have a sense of your business's current economic condition, but without the 3/12 ROC, you are likely flying with one eye blind.

3. Align the Leadership Team: Ensure everyone regularly reviews and interprets the data the same way—and commits to unified action.

4. Act with Courage: Anticipation is meaningless without decisive execution. Issachar CEOs move way before the crowd. And the crowd usually unwisely considers the advice of water-cooler chatter.

Why It Matters Now

The current landscape—marked by steady but uneven growth, unpredictable tariffs, and labor pressures—demands leadership with the discipline to read the real numbers and lead from the front, not the headlines.

Final Thought

Ask yourself: Do I comprehend the times? Do I have a firm sense of our business growth trajectory? Do I understand the economics of the marketplaces where we compete? Based on all this, what should my business do next?

If not, it’s time to improve your tools by developing an effective economic compass. Your competition is probably guilty of practicing golf course economics—steering by rumor, opinion, and innuendo. That means they are vulnerable.

I’ve found that, in my own work, the leaders who outperform others aren’t clairvoyant—they just ask better questions and seek more honest signals. That’s the Issachar edge.