Leading Through Inflation: And Recession and Stagflation

Inflation is here. Do you know how it’s impacting your company?  

It’s not just a matter of rising costs. Inflation eats cash, squeezes margins, threatens working capital, and throws all your great forecasts and plans into question. Its effect is cumulative and pervasive. 

Yet this period of economic discontinuity is a huge opportunity to come out stronger for those who know how to lead in the face of inflation and a looming recession.

Ram Charan has guided hundreds of companies through many tough business challenges. In the early 1980s, he helped GE preserve its teetering credit rating in the face of double-digit inflation. Now, in Leading Through Inflation, he brings the same common sense and wisdom that made his book Execution, coauthored with Larry Bossidy, a long-time New York Times bestseller.

This book will be your guide to avoiding the hazards of inflation while positioning your company to thrive when the business cycle stabilizes. It provides Ram’s down-to-earth recommendations and real-world examples to help you navigate a landscape that may be new to you.   



As you learn to lead through inflation, you will be better prepared for recession and stagflation as well. You will know how to protect your cash, your customers, and your capital investments. Your psychology will shift from anxiety and fear to optimism and excitement as you define the path to a reimagined future.

Ram Charan has spent six decades working with CEOs across almost all major geographies and industries. He talks to a CEO or CXO every single day. His advice is actually executed.

He has advised over 50 Chinese companies and served on Chinese boards. He warned executives about China's rise for two decades while others dismissed the threat.

Author of 36 books, including the international bestseller Execution, his work has sold over 4 million copies in 25+ languages.

A Harvard Business School Baker Scholar with an MBA and doctorate from HBS, Dr. Charan was recently honored as a "Global Board Legend" at the 2025 Global Corporate Governance Summit.