Happy New Year! January always brings fresh energy and new plans. But it also brings new uncertainties. Is your organization ready for the new year? Are you? Do you cherish a learning, agile culture? How resilient are you? Can you deal with sudden changes – or is it time to develop your culture, your strategy, and your change-readiness for the future that lies ahead?
We’ve been thinking about what 2026 might bring:
• How will AI continue reshaping work and industries?
• What happens if economic pressures intensify?
• How will climate impacts affect business operations?
• What new regulations or policies might emerge?
• How will demographic shifts change customer needs – and change our capacity to find enough staff?
The honest answer? Nobody knows for sure.
But here’s what we do know: The organizations that thrive in uncertain times aren’t the ones with perfect predictions. They’re the ones with better preparation.
Three questions for your 2026 planning:
- What worked well when you faced uncertainty before?
- What early warning signs should you be watching this year?
- What would you do differently if you saw change coming 6 months earlier?
Answer these questions – by yourself or with a co-worker or your team! The answers will help you better prepare for the year ahead. But there’s more. Check:
Is your new year’s strategy founded in the basic assumption that 2026 will be like 2025, but maybe 1-2% better…?
The most successful organizations don’t just plan for growth – they plan for disruption.
Your organization can do better than working with an uninspiring strategy!
Three patterns we see in resilient organizations:
1. They have “weak signal” detectors
Someone (or some process) is always scanning for early signs of change. Not just in their industry, but adjacent ones too.
2. They practice “scenario thinking”
Instead of one plan, they have 2-3 scenarios. “What if growth is slower?” “What if our main competitor pivots?” “What if regulation changes?”
3. They cherish “change”
They don’t focus on efficiency and margins alone… Resilience is stored in some redundancy in time, effort, resources – so you have space to move. It depends on diversity (a diversity of ideas, initiatives, pilots, etc). And also crucial: on high-quality relationships between different people and networks in your organization. Those relationships connect different silos, influence and activate each other to new ideas, new activities, new and agile responses to sudden changes.
Resilient organizations regularly practice adapting – small experiments, pilot programs, cross-training. So when big change hits, adaptation feels natural.
Their culture? It’s a learning culture, eager to pilot, experiment, question and try again…
The organizations that struggle? They assume next year will be like this year, just a little better. They play not to lose – and cling to the illusion of control.
They will sign for 1% better, instead of working toward an inspiring purpose, an exciting transformation or new venture, a gracious dance with uncertainty – because you can learn to feel more comfortable with uncertainty (while keeping your core operations safe).
How much risk does your organization embrace? How high or low do you aim? 1%, a moonshot, or somewhere in between?
If you want to build these capabilities systematically, that’s exactly what we help with in our Strategic Foresight community.
But even if you’re not ready for that, start with one small practice: Ask “What if?” more often.
Ask the crystal ball question!
If you had a crystal ball, what would you ask it? If you had just ONE question?
The answer to this question can be your research project for 2026.
Frame your research question well (the future of X by the year Y) and start looking for answers. Follow relevant blogs, podcast, Youtubers and thought leaders – find the weak signals, the strong trends and the change drivers that lead to an answer!
Want to learn how to do this? Start with our videos (see the link below) and choose your way forward – what level of support you need.
© Marcella Bremer, 2026
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