In this week's issue: With so many voices and so much noise flooding our feeds, it feels like the world has become a more chaotic space. Finding your Polaris can help anchor you to what matters.

Hi Reader:

I hope you are getting your last-minute shopping done and ordering your final Cranberry Bliss Bars of the season. For me, Christmas came early, as my sister came out for a fun visit last week.

We enjoyed a few local activities - including attending a "Feast Day" at the Pueblo of Pojoaque (a local Native American tribe). We enjoyed Buffalo dances and gossiping with friendly strangers.

My sister also brought with her an OLD manuscript my dad wrote nearly 70 years ago. He typed it on thin onion paper, in German. While we both have rudimentary German skills, they don't hold up to the task of navigating a 300-page document. So we fed the first 50 pages to ChatGPT, which did a credible job of translating my dad's world (and meeting my mom) in the early 60s. What a special gift!

Anchoring back to our family origins inspired this week's blog. Connecting back to what matters when times feel chaotic.

Here's wishing you all a very happy holiday season.

Monica

This Week's Article

Find Your Polaris: Your Constant in a Shifting World

Sailors have staked their lives on Polaris for millennia, not because it makes their journey easier, but because it keeps them true.

• Ancient wisdom for modern chaos: Polynesian navigators crossed oceans by finding constants in changing seas. Your 2026 strategy works the same way—align with what isn't changing, not with what's trending.
• Seven constants: Your audience's needs, relationships, and trust are among the constants that won't change in the coming year.
• Your Polaris is already there: You don't need every choice to be right. Just look up and make sure your North Star is still visible.

What I'm Reading

Not surprisingly, most of this week’s reads are around 2026 trends. The major throughline for next year seems to be aligning around non-conformity.

OpenAI Small Business Jam Report: OpenAI (parent of ChatGPT) brought together small businesses in five cities (in partnership with SCORE.org). The core insight: small business owners struggle with "blank page" paralysis. They find massive wins when they start by identifying a real, recurring task they do weekly, then building a reusable prompt to do it faster. [Open AI]

Pinterest Predicts 2026 — Non-Conformity as Identity Curation: Nonconformity, self-preservation, and escapism are leading the trends for next year according to Pinterest. 91% of Gen Z says "the mainstream is officially over." Meanwhile, 42% of consumers say they are only participating in trends that suit them. [Pinterest]

LinkedIn Big Ideas 2026: LinkedIn's editor's report centers on 25 big ideas, including women's health advances, AI in mental health governance, space exploration, and event tourism becoming "regenerative" (leaving places better than you found them). The throughline: Big organizations are moving toward purpose-aligned storytelling and founder-led authenticity. [LinkedIn]

New Strategy Guide

Anatomy of the Big Idea

I'm excited to announce I've launched a new free guide. I wrote several last year, but I'm especially proud of this one. It distilled all my learnings (both around AI and around helping organizations identify their big idea, and how to turn that idea into major funding.)

About the Guide

Unleash the ideas that won’t stay quiet and turn them into real business momentum. Move from vision to action—using AI to build the systems and rhythm that sustain growth. Inside, you’ll find my four‑step framework to stress‑test your idea, motivate audiences, and build a pathway to bold execution.

Work With Me

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