It’s that time of year again. Time to look into our crystal ball and figure out what is to come. Through conversations with CEOs, research and client work, we’re beginning to see trends emerge that are shaping the future of work.
Before we jump into predictions for 2026, a quick note on last year’s: they aged well. Not because I’m clairvoyant, but because the signals were already flashing for anyone willing to look past the noise. If you want the full receipts, you can revisit those predictions here but the takeaway is simple:
The shifts we talked about in 2025 accelerated. And that acceleration is exactly why 2026 is shaping up to be even more disruptive. So here’s what I’m predicting and I think we’re in for a wild ride this year.
1. Affordability Will Build a New Political Center
The left and right will collide on a single issue…Affordability. When Zohran Mamdani and Tucker Carlson sound like they’re reading the same talking points, you know something’s shifting. We saw the rumblings this past week when Mamdani met President Trump at the White House. A new political lane will open. Maybe we’re finally ready for a sticky third party. It will not fully develop in 2026 but we will begin to see the skeleton of a powerful alternative. The conversations and alignment will come from one core issue: the plight of the American worker.
2. Consumer-Led AI Protests Erupt
Unemployment is likely to hit 6% in the second half of the year. And as economic anxiety increases, it will look for and find a villain: AI. I predict the first consumer-led AI protests will break out. It will be Anheuser-Busch and Target all over again, but instead of “woke,” it’s “robots took our jobs.” One unlucky CEO will announce an automation initiative and instantly become the national face of too much AI, too fast. AI backlash becomes the next culture war — and it won’t be subtle.
3. Side Hustle Becomes Main Hustle
With early career on-ramps disappearing, side hustles stop being side anything. New grads default to entrepreneurship because corporate America no longer has room for them. Agentic AI accelerates the trend: solopreneurs, creators, and micro-consultants start out-earning entry-level jobs before they ever get one. An entire class of entrepreneurs will arise, not by choice, but by necessity.
4. HR Gets Blown Up
HR finally faces its reckoning. AI eats the administrative core, IT absorbs the systems work, and only truly strategic HR survives. The rest gets automated, outsourced, or dissolved. HR isn’t “evolving.” It’s hollowing out. What’s left will be smaller, sharper, and focused entirely on culture, capability, and business results, not paperwork.
I have five more on my list. That is the reason for next week’s webinar. We will walk through all nine predictions for 2026 and show how leaders can apply the Results Equation to prepare for what is already on the way. Join us!
The Leadership Reset: A Live Session on 2026
Wednesday, December 3 at 11 a.m. PST
Free to attend. Thirty minutes. Join from anywhere.
You will gain:
• Cultural trends shaping how work gets done next year
• A framework to strengthen alignment across teams
• A mindset shift already separating top performers from the rest
If you cannot attend live, a recording will be sent after.
Register to hear the full set of predictions and see how strong culture becomes a strategy when the rules begin to disappear.
Elsewhere in Culture
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/25/campbell-soup-executive-comments
What happened at Campbell’s is a window into how culture actually operates when no one thinks they are being watched. When a senior executive speaks about customers with contempt and dismisses colleagues based on their background, it exposes bad judgment and the belief system inside the organization may not match the values printed on the website. Culture always surfaces in small moments. When power feels unchallenged it often speaks honestly, and that honesty can tell the real story of a workplace.
The real consequence is what happens to trust when employees see what is tolerated. Strong cultures make it clear that speaking up is not risky and that silence is not the safest option. When employees believe their concerns will lead to retaliation, they retreat from accountability to protect themselves and that is when performance begins to erode. A healthy workplace is built on the belief that raising a concern should not require courage. If employees need proof just to be taken seriously, then trust has already left the room.
Layoffs have long been treated as a sign of weakness — a last-ditch move when a company is out of ideas. But lately they’ve become a signal of strength: proof of efficiency, clarity, and strategic focus in an AI-driven economy. Unless, of course, you botch the narrative like HP. Announcing thousands of layoffs alongside weak earnings, rising costs, and no believable plan for future growth flipped the script. Instead of “strategic discipline,” investors heard “we’re in trouble.” The lesson is simple: in 2026, layoffs only read as strength when they’re part of a compelling story. Without that, they’re just a warning sign.
Most leaders will enter 2026 reacting. I do not want to react. I want to see what is coming before it arrives. That is why we are bringing leaders together for the Surrender To Lead Summit on January 13.
You will hear from executives who are already shaping the year ahead and you will see how the themes from our upcoming book Surrender To Lead come to life in real decisions and real results.
If you want clarity going into 2026, register now and be in the room where leaders are already looking forward.
Register Now At https://www.surrendertolead.com/summit/