New year’s resolutions for 2026: Stay true to your values

2025 was a wild ride. Our world changed faster than in many years before: Wars rage in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Geopolitics leads to large players intimidating and sometimes outright offending smaller players. The tech industry was changing faster in 2025 than ever before, mainly because of AI. But also because tech bros started to imitate the bullying of great power leaders. And last but not least, don’t forget climate change: It’s still here, it’s still visible, but it got lost in the noise of wars, geopolitics, and AI.

The list could go on, but that’s not the point here. 

The question is simple: What can an ordinary entrepreneur do to succeed in 2026? 

The answer is equally simple: Stay true to your values.

Never sacrifice your reputation for money

Showing off your riches is en vogue again: A gold-decorated Oval Office. Tesla’s shareholders approve a compensation package of 1,000 billion USD for Elon Musk. Dubai Chocolate. 14-year-old teens portraying themselves as millionaires on TikTok.

Because people show off their riches on social media, ordinary people think it’s desirable to get rich. And because not everybody can get rich, people are susceptible to accepting dubious proposals just for personal financial benefits.

Don’t do it. Never sacrifice your reputation for money. There are more important things in life than being rich. For sure, money is essential to survive, but there is a huge difference between having enough money to live and being rich (and showing it off).

Never walk with the crowd

With all the social media noise of autocrats, great power leaders, tech bros, and wannabe starlets, it’s easy to adopt their behavior in everyday life. It’s easy to say that it’s OK to do X because person Y also does it.

That’s how just about every evil in history started. Erich Kästner, a German writer and poet who witnessed both World War I and II, summed it up in two quotes:

“There is nothing good unless you do it.”

“All the mischief that happens is not only the fault of those who do it, but also of those who do not prevent it.”

At the turn of the year, let’s add those two quotes to our New Year’s resolutions, and the world will be a better place in 2026.

Know how to defend yourself

Being nice to other people is generally a good idea to build and maintain relationships, do business, and get through life without dying from an anger-induced heart attack.

However, the good times between 1990 and 2020 have led Westerners to believe that there are no more real dangers out there. As a consequence, we have unlearned how to defend ourselves.

With wars and geopolitics back on the stage, the dangers have returned. No matter if somebody claims your house is theirs, a competitor engages in dodgy business practices, or a customer unjustifiably accuses you of breach of contract, not defending yourself is not a good strategy for 2026. We all need to learn to stand our ground again  —  but only use this skill when it is strictly needed.

In Switzerland, my home country, we have a long-standing history of defending ourselves against big, mighty neighbors. But the peaceful decades that lie behind us have led us to unlearn this vital skill for small nations, which is just as vital for entrepreneurs leading small and medium-sized companies.

Stick to your strategy, even if it hurts

The easy way is to go with the flow. There are more “get rich quick” guides than there is money to be made from them. There are enough bullies to think that their behavior is the New Normal. It’s easy to change your strategy like your underwear whenever you run into a challenge. And there are plenty of challenges in our troubled times.

The hard way is to stick to your strategy, even if it hurts in the short term. Whenever you run into a challenge, don’t adapt your strategy, but try to find a way to do more with less. 

This is the very essence of entrepreneurship, and it works for just about every aspect of our lives in those challenging times.

This article is also published on the author's blog. illuminem Voices is a democratic space presenting the thoughts and opinions of leading Sustainability & Energy writers, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of illuminem.

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