Is 2026 going to be the year you win by being good?

Maybe you are one of the 1 in 10 British workers who want to resign this month, or part of the large number impacted by work-related stress?

Or you run an organisation and worry about productivity and surviving financially?

Or like me, you just want 2026 to be a good year.

Well, this blog is designed to address your needs. Last year, I finally published my book after over a decade of writing it. Not full-time, obviously! I knew I could only have a successful 2025 if I published it. Now, I aim to use my book, “Winning by being Good”, as a guide to making 2026 great. Here are my top tips inspired by it.

Know what success looks like for you

Whether you are a company, charity, social enterprise or individual, you need to have a vision of what you want to achieve for three reasons:

How can you set a direction of travel/know what actions to take if you don’t know where you want to go?
How can you know when you have been successful if you don’t know what success is?
How can you get help from others or inspire people from your organisation if they don’t know what success is/what you need?

NB, success may be a stepping stone on the way to your long-term vision, but you still need to be clear about what needs to happen en route.

Take action

As per the Jane Goodall quote above, you need to take action, or as I say in the book.

“A vision does not change the world until it is put into action”

However, action needs to be focused on achieving your vision and reflecting your values, or the organisation's values – action for action’s sake is not the basis for success. Many visionaries have had people around them to make their vision a reality, and great leaders know they can’t do it all themselves. Bill Gates had a vision of a world where computers could help us reach our potential, but it was Paul Allen who built the company. Gates now has a vision of a world without malaria, but charities are implementing it. Steve Jobs had the idea for Apple, but Steve Wozniak was the engineer who brought it to life. Walt Disney had the vision, but it was his brother Roy who had the business know-how. “If it hadn’t been for my big brother, I’d have been in jail several times for cheques bouncing. I never knew what was in the bank. He kept me on the straight and narrow,” said Walt Disney[i] in 1957. The need for action is most clearly illustrated by individuals who have ideas and then complain that someone else stole them and started a successful business – ideas are dreams unless they are turned into reality through action. In the digital and AI era, acting with urgency and responding to market needs are critical.

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes time. Vision with action can change the world.

Over-analysis is the enemy of action

[i] Source: Start with Why, Simon Sinek, p140 (Penguin 2011)

Improving productivity and success

“The real goal for an employer is to seek for others the best life of which they are capable.”

Joseph Cadbury 1801-1889

I use this quote in “Winning by being Good” even though it is almost 200 years old. If everyone in your organisation is confident to use their initiative and understands the positive impact your organisation has because they both know what makes them a hero in the organisation and also can tell the stories of how the organisation has changed lives, then you will be empowering people to maximise what they do and superpower your organisation by improving its staff engagement and thus its productivity.

As AON Hewitt’s[i] research indicates:

“A disengaged employee costs an organisation an average of $10,000 in profit annually; as a result, organisations with high engagement are 78% more productive and 40% more profitable.”

[i] Source: The Values Driven Organisation by Richard Barrett, p. 26

Achieving success as an individual

If you work for an organisation or are thinking of starting a new enterprise yourself, you also need to know how you change lives, and if it is not clear to you, find out or move to doing something where you know how you change lives for the better. Otherwise, you will be demotivated and unfulfilled, and you will be putting yourself at risk.

A challenge for you as an employer or employee

Throughout the book, I provide ROC Challenges. Here is one from the chapter on Treating Staff Well

Would you recommend your child or a friend to apply for a job in your company? Why or why not?

I suggest that, to maximise your organisation's success or your fulfilment as an individual in 2026, ensuring you can answer 'yes' to this challenge is the key.

More help for 2026

If you have found this blog useful, my book offer includes even more information. Find out more here or buy the ebook for £3.99 or a Paperback on Amazon. We have several blogs on the psychology of achieving more:

The science to help you achieve your goals in 2016

9 steps to achieving your goals in 2017

If you want 2018 to be a successful year read this

Ten top psychology tips to help you achieve your goals in 2021

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