Who will win in 2026?

In our conversations with consultants this quarter, we've noticed something troubling: the majority are adopting what we call the "waiting posture"—hoping their network reactivates, hoping the market rebounds, hoping things return to normal.

Here's the problem: while they wait, a smaller group of consultants who faced the exact same disruptions are actively pivoting, testing new offers, and building new relationships. The gap between these two camps isn't closing—it's compounding. In this episode, we break down the two distinct mindsets we're seeing as consultants head into 2026, why waiting is a losing strategy even when it feels safe, and what the consultants who will emerge stronger are doing differently right now.

Show Notes

The two distinct camps we're seeing among consultants heading into 2026 (and why the dividing line isn't what you'd expect)
Why the consultants who struggled most and the ones who will thrive often had the exact same experience this year
The "waiting posture" trap—and why it guarantees you'll end up exactly where you started at best
What COVID-era restaurants teach us about responding to market disruption
The uncomfortable truth about your relationship with change (and why it predicts your trajectory)
Why "waiting for your network to come back" is a strategy that only works by accident
The compound effect: how small pivots now create categorical differences 12 months from now
What we've observed separates consultants who emerge stronger from downturns versus those who merely survive
The Odyssey Plan exercise that shifts consultants from the waiting camp to the moving camp
One question to ask yourself: Are you acting before you believe, or waiting until you feel ready?