It’s February, and thank goodness. Maybe you thought the same, but this January seemed like one of the longest ever, not just in life but also in business.
I read that the third Monday in January is known as Blue Monday. The most unhappy day for most people. Perhaps it’s been the persistent rain, a lack of sunshine or the cold driving a lack of motivation. If January has been a challenge for most people, then how has that impacted on your team, your productivity, sales conversions, pace or just business in general?
I have spoken to many business owners and leaders over the last four weeks and whilst most are generally positive about the opportunities presented by 2026, there are some consistent themes when businesses talk about the road ahead. Does any of this sound familiar?
- Most businesses are still reeling from the increase in employers’ NI and rising input costs and are concerned about further increases in business related taxes being included in future budgets.
- Business is harder now than ever, deals are more challenging to get across the line, the first interaction to completed sale takes longer and clients are less willing to commit.
- AI is shaping hiring decisions, it’s rapidly changing the way some businesses work, and the speed of development means some businesses want to stay agile to this rapid change rather than expanding their teams in 2026.
- The geopolitical and economic landscapes remain uncertain; it’s more challenging for boards to make decisions about long term investment when so much is unknown.
All our businesses are travelling a different journey, servicing different markets, working in different places and leading and shaping their own teams. Your January may have been the best yet and if it was then that is good news; keep up the positivity and growth.
But if January felt difficult then you are not alone and that’s why today is the day to reshape your thinking, January has gone, February has commenced, you need to warm yourself up to a summer and year of success, make decisions that will make a material difference to the business and your team, adjust your professional mindset, stay agile and keep focused on performance.
Ready to counteract the 2,088 days of January blues? Well, here are some actions that might help…
- Start with first principles: Get a pen and paper and remind yourself why you are in business, who your customers are, how you make money and how you measure success – create a flow chart, draw a picture, write an essay, it doesn’t matter; what matters is that you remind yourself why you do what you do in the first place.
- Take a long hard look at yourself and ask yourself, what kind of leader are you? Are you the leader you want to be? What could you do in 2026 to excel your leadership and improve your business as a result?
- Examine the people around you, your directors, your team; are they delivering or are they just “doing”? Where are your opportunities to get the very best from your team or to drive change to encourage success?
- Dust off the strategy. And if you don’t have one, write one. Formulate a plan to deliver your strategy, set milestones, share your strategy with the team and allow them to help you shape the next six to twelve months. Be open minded and have fun with it.
- Set yourself the challenge that 2026 is going to be a year of celebrating wins with the team; perhaps aim for one a month.
Will all these actions make business easy… No of course not.
Will it remove the external challenges that you cannot control? No
Will they improve your focus, help you take a moment to consider 2026 from the helicopter? Yes, they will.
If you take one thing from the three minutes you spent on my article today, it’s this:
“Own 2026, plan for it, meet it head on, embrace change, shout about the successes, be agile, develop, coach, empower your team and focus on your numbers. Leave January behind as a distant memory, you have got this.”
