The Biggest Challenge of 2026 won’t be AI or the US
As 2026 kicks off, business leaders pop their heads up, scanning the horizon for what’s going to shape the year ahead.
They’re seeing the usual suspects - AI, cybersecurity, geopolitical instability. Big issues, no doubt. But they won’t be the ones that decide whether your business thrives or struggles.
The real challenge will be your people. More precisely, it will be how they respond to what’s happening around them.
It’ll show up in three big ways:
1. The Body. We call it stress or burnout, but is actually the nervous system being cooked. Years of high workloads, chronic uncertainty, and being ‘always on’ have built up. Most people are running on fried circuits.
Watch for: increased absenteeism, quiet quitting, presentism and a spike in workers comp claims.
2. Reactive Thinking. An overloaded nervous system shrinks our ability to think clearly. Logic is hijacked by limbic noise. People become agitated, defensive and cling to what they know. Creativity flatlines and politics and gossip creep in.
Watch for: people with short fuses, low tolerance and gossip/politics creeping in.
3. Short-Termism. Survival mode narrows vision. We forget long-term goals and resort to immediate fixes, even when it doesn’t align to the bigger picture.
Watch for: people making avoidable mistakes, going against training and not implementing change.
Overall, you will know that your people are becoming part of the weak link when:
People you thought were fine suddenly aren’t.
Working (even) harder still won’t be enough
Tempers fraying faster.
People already needing another holiday
The great ideas from the last off-site just aren’t getting traction.
It’s not that people don’t care - it’s that they’re cooked. Their nervous system is stuck in high alert, constantly scanning for threats, like a smoke detector in a kitchen. When this is happening it doesn't matter how brilliant your ideas are, if your team does not have the bandwidth to implement it.
And a few weeks off doesn’t fix it.
When your team is in survival mode there is no room for connection, innovation or strategy. This will be the real business risk this year - whether your people can meet complexity without being overwhelmed by it.
The real opportunity this year isn’t to push harder - it’s to build capacity.
Want to explore what that looks like?
Let’s talk.
Cheers.
– Darren
