Change Favours the Prepared Mind

A note to young leaders.

We are barely 20 days into the new year and we are already dealing with a US military incursion in Venezuela, Trump’s tariff-fuelled bid for Greenland and mass protests in Iran.

2026 is set to be a wild ride.

So it’s understandable that many of us will enter the new year with a “buckle your seat belt” mentality – bracing for impact and hoping for survival.

But that would be a mistake.

Change brings opportunity. Massive change brings massive opportunity.

Don’t sit there wringing your hands. Adopt an opportunity mindset.

Make 2026 the year of international travel. This is a year for meeting with as many overseas leaders and stakeholders as possible – to test assumptions and look for discontinuities.

The chess pieces are being re-arranged and old paradigms will be turned upside down.

Change favours the prepared mind.

Come prepared.