The Future Waits For No One: Four Foundational Messages for Founders & CEOs Preparing for 2026
Melbourne Cup is mere weeks away meaning Founders and CEOs are looking at current challenges and preparing to be ready to run headlong into 2026 with a sharpened focus on execution.
As we move towards the end of 2025 at Current Future, we are seeing similar patterns across our SME client base – the need to help leadership teams lay the groundwork for scalable growth in 2026. Here are four key thoughts to guide your foundational planning, drawn from recent Current Future client engagements across diverse sectors.
A key theme to get us started -> Build capability, not dependency.
1️⃣ Build Functional Maturity Before Scaling – brand, marketing and sales
Before scaling in 2026, ensure your core go-to-market functions—brand, marketing and sales—are mature enough to support growth.
Assess the value chain and customer journey – can we improve brand pillars and marketing plans now to provide the qualified leads (MQLs) for the sales team to fire in 2026?
Reporting on the marketing and sales funnel – Is activity reportable throughout clearly defined stages of the sales process and customer journey? This will lead to improved pipeline visibility and conversion.
Is our UVP clear and do we understand our customers well enough to execute against the UVP? Clarity on UVP, brand pillars and customer segmentation will lead to differentiation in crowded markets.
Lesson: Go-to-market functional readiness is the bedrock of scalable execution.
2️⃣ Diagnose Commercial Leverage Points and Pricing Opportunities
Foundational work must uncover where commercial leverage lies, for example:
By understanding UVP through the eyes of customers, a client unlocked significant upside by introducing first-time charges and pricing changes in a low risk way by simply reflecting what customers told us they value.
Are there a range of levers that can be developed on pricing that can be tested in 2025, before implementing in 2026? Will this create an opportunity for “test and learn” campaigns now that could deliver quick wins in a four-week sprint.
Lesson: Revenue growth starts with identifying and activating hidden leverage.
3️⃣ Align Technology with Business Strategy
Technology implementation must be driven by business strategy—not the other way around.
What a the business processes that are causing headaches and feel manual and tim consuming? Can we map these out and crush a series of sprints to execute before Christmas, laying the platform for 2024.
Can we map the customer journey as a business process … and does this customer journey match the CRM and other tools? This will enable better reporting, and sales automations.
Lesson: Tech investments must be operationally grounded and outcome-driven.
4️⃣ Codify Culture and Values to Support Execution
Culture is a strategic asset.
Would our business benefit from unifying across teams and geographies through values workshops, resulting in actionable values that guide recruitment, customer engagement, execution and internal decision-making. Is our values-based group ready for 2026 together.
Lesson: Codifying values enables consistent execution across teams and geographies, helping guide decisions in all aspects of the business.
Final Thought
2026 will reward those who prepare with precision. Foundational work is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. Whether you’re scaling, repositioning, or preparing for investment, the groundwork you lay now will determine your trajectory.
At Current Future, we’re here to help you diagnose, design, and deliver with confidence.
Let’s Talk
If you’re a Founder or CEO thinking about 2026, let’s connect. Drop us a message or book a meeting to learn more.