How To Set A Winning Business Strategy For 2026

As we look toward 2026, one thing is clear: the old idea of strategy is no longer fit for purpose. 

For decades, strategy was treated as a static plan. A document produced once a year, built on forecasts, spreadsheets, and a belief that the future could be predicted with enough analysis.  

In today’s world of acceleration powered by artificial intelligence (AI), geopolitical volatility, shifting consumer expectations, and relentless competition, that model is breaking down. 

The leaders who will win in 2026 won’t be those with the thickest strategy decks. They’ll be the leaders who are able to think, decide and act strategically—and do so consistently and under pressure. 

After more than 25 years advising leaders across many different sectors and geographic regions, and through my work captured in my book, Be More Strategic, I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly: strategy connects awareness, choice, action, and impact. 

So, if you’re a founder or CEO asking, “How do I set a winning business strategy for 2026?”, start here. 

1. Stop Treating Strategy As An Event—Make It A Daily Practice 

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make, possibly subconsciously, is believing that “strategy happens at the ‘off-site.’”  

In reality, strategy shows up in hundreds of small, everyday moments: 

• Which opportunities you say yes or no to 

• Where you focus attention and investment 

• How you respond when plans don’t survive contact with reality 

Winning strategies emerge when leaders build the capability to think strategically in real time, not just once or twice a year. 

For 2026, this means shifting from planning harder to thinking better. Strategy is not about predicting the future. It’s about being clear-headed, adaptable, and decisive when the future refuses to be predictable. 

2. Begin With Strategic Self-Awareness (Before More Analysis) 

Most strategy processes start with the external world: markets, competitors, trends. 

The strongest ones start somewhere less obvious: the leader themselves. 

Your beliefs, assumptions, fears, habits and blind spots shape every strategic choice you make. Under pressure, leaders don’t rise to the level of their strategy documents and “town halls”—they fall back to their default thinking patterns, many sub-conscious. 

Ask yourself: 

• What assumptions am I making about growth, risk or success that may no longer hold? 

• Where am I (unconsciously) reacting instead of (consciously) choosing? 

• What decisions do I avoid because they feel uncomfortable? 

In 2026, leaders who invest in self-awareness gain a powerful edge: they can separate signals from noise, and respond deliberately and proactively rather than emotionally and reactively. 

3. Design Strategy For Uncertainty, Not Certainty 

Traditional strategy assumes stability. Modern strategy assumes disruption. 

A winning strategy for 2026 is not a fixed answer. It is a set of intelligent options. 

Instead of asking, “What is our plan?”, ask: 

• What would have to be true for this strategy to work? 

• What early signals should we watch? 

• Where do we need flexibility rather than precision?  

• Where will progress beat perfection? 

This approach borrows from the best of strategic thinking research and real-world practice. It allows leaders to move faster, course-correct sooner, and avoid over-committing to assumptions that may expire quickly.  

The most resilient businesses don’t bet everything on one future. They build strategic optionality. 

4. Make Creativity A Core Strategic Skill 

For many leaders, creativity still feels like a “nice-to-have”—if at all. 

In reality, creativity is now a strategic necessity. 

As AI automates execution and optimization, human advantage increasingly comes from: 

• Understanding and reframing problems 

• Connecting ideas across domains 

• Imagining new value propositions 

• Seeing opportunities others miss 

• Human connection and emotion 

Creativity isn’t about wild ideas. It’s about expanding the range of strategic choices available. 

For 2026, ask: 

• Where are we solving the wrong problem brilliantly? 

• What customer frustrations are we normalizing instead of re-imagining? 

• What constraints are self-imposed rather than real? 

Leaders who cultivate curiosity, imagination and perspective don’t just respond to change, they shape it. 

5. Translate Strategy Into Clear, Human Decisions (That Can Be Owned) 

A strategy that cannot be clearly explained cannot be executed. 

One of the most overlooked aspects of strategy is sense-making: helping people understand what matters now, what doesn’t, and why. 

For founders and CEOs, this means: 

• Making trade-offs explicit 

• Saying “no” publicly and consistently 

• Connecting strategic choices to real priorities on the ground 

People don’t execute strategy because it’s written down. They do so because it makes sense to them.  

In 2026, winning leaders will be those who can tell a compelling strategic story, one that links purpose, priorities and action in a way people can commit to. 

6. Shift From Control To Strategic Trust 

As organizations grow, leaders often respond by tightening control. This usually backfires. 

High-performing organizations in uncertain environments rely less on micromanagement and more on clarity and trust. When people understand the strategic intent, they can make better decisions locally, faster. 

Ask: 

• Do our people know why we’re doing what we’re doing? 

• Where are we slowing decisions unnecessarily? 

• What decisions could be pushed closer to the customer or frontline? 

The leaders who win in 2026 won’t try to control complexity. They’ll create the conditions for good strategic decisions to happen everywhere. 

7. Measure What Really Matters 

Finally, strategy fails when measurement lags behind reality. 

Too many organizations track what’s easy to measure, not what actually drives long-term success. 

A winning strategy for 2026 balances: 

• Short-term performance 

• Long-term capability building 

• Learning and adaptation 

This means paying attention not just to what results you’re getting, but how you’re getting them: 

• Are decisions getting faster or slower? 

• Is learning accelerating or stagnating? 

• Are leaders developing strategic capacity, or burning out? 

Strategy is not just about outcomes. It’s about building the ability to keep winning. 

The Bottom Line 

A winning business strategy for 2026 won’t come from a single framework or forecast. 

It will come from leaders who: 

• Think clearly under uncertainty 

• Make conscious, courageous choices 

• Align people through meaning, not control 

• Turn insight into sustained action 

In a world where change is constant, the ultimate competitive advantage is not having the perfect plan.  

It’s being more strategic, day in, day out.  

About The Author 

Charlie Curson is a strategic advisor, accredited leadership coach, and the author of Be More Strategic: 12 Essential Practices for the Life and Career You Want. He advises founders, leaders and teams on strategy, leadership and growth, and is an angel investor in early-stage businesses.