Welcome to January.

The start of a new year often comes with a familiar pressure — to act quickly, plan aggressively, and now, to automate decisively. With AI tools becoming more accessible by the day, it may feel like the right move is to start building, integrating, and optimising immediately.

This is where I want to gently slow you down.

Automation is not a strategy. It is an accelerator. And when direction is unclear, AI simply helps you move faster — without necessarily moving forward.

January Is Not About Reflection — It’s About Direction

In the December 2025 issue, we focused on reflection. Members were guided through the 10 CEO Reflection Questions — covering vision, focus, customers, brand, people, systems, financials, innovation, leadership, and gratitude.

That reflection work matters. It creates awareness. It surfaces patterns. It closes the chapter on the past year.

January, however, is about what comes next.

This month is about translating reflection into strategic direction — making conscious choices about where you will lead, what you will prioritise, and what you will deliberately say no to before introducing AI into the equation.

Reflection helps you understand where you are.
Direction determines where AI will take you.

If You Haven’t Done the CEO Reflection Yet

If you skipped the December reflection — or completed it quickly — I strongly encourage you to pause here and go back.

Strategic direction without reflection is guesswork. The clarity you need for January is built on the answers from December.

You can access the full CEO Reflection Playbook here:

→ Go to the CEO Reflection Playbook

What This January Issue Is Designed to Do

This issue is intentionally calm, strategic, and selective. It is designed to help you:

• Clarify strategic direction before committing to plans or tools
• Redefine your role as a leader in an AI-enabled business
• Apply a strategy-before-automation lens to your decisions
• Use AI as a thinking partner, not a shortcut for clarity

January is not about doing more. It is about choosing better.

January is not the month to build automations.
January is the month to build clarity.

Let’s begin 2026 the right way — with intention, focus, and leadership-level thinking.