New Year, New Edge: How to Stay Competitive in our Industry

I’ve been contemplating my commitment for 2026 and thought I should have a resolution to ensure continued professional growth. I recently read that one powerful direction for New Year’s resolutions is to treat your own professional development as a structured, ongoing practice, rather than a reactive one. That might look like committing to a quarterly skills audit, identifying what the next stage of your skill sets and/or leadership level requires. A commitment to watch where the industry is shifting, and which capabilities will matter most, as AI continues to reshape operations. I’ve been pretty good at doing this, but I think I’ll take it to the next level this year.

My first thought is to add one new competency each quarter, whether it’s learning about an emerging AI operations tool with Epic and/or other software, or refining leadership systems that scale with a startup’s growth. I continue to be involved with start-ups whose software is exceptional, but needs strategy and leadership to take it to market and grow. I’m thinking this might help me at the executive level to keep one step ahead of the curve. If you are a consultant, I love the idea of a quarterly skill set exercise, sort of like what Epic used to do with NVTs.

On the financial side, I also want to focus on strengthening long‑term stability while still giving room to pursue various opportunities. Another great recent article I read was on creating a  “financial strategy review,” which basically treats your own compensation and wealth planning with the same rigor you would bring to a company’s operating model. That could include optimizing cash flow, setting clear savings or investment targets, or building a framework for evaluating equity opportunities in startups so you can confidently balance risk and upside.

Finally, I am really an advocate for continuous learning, so I am definitely going to round out this year’s resolutions with a commitment to ongoing self‑education, perhaps dedicating a set number of hours each month to exploring new IT and AI advancements. As my career plans for this year will be something new and away from staffing, I’m also thinking of experimenting with tools hands‑on, or attending IT/AI specific workshops to keep me plugged into what’s next.

Check out these great articles for some ideas:

https://www.salary.com/resources/hr-glossary/master-comp-planning-stay-ahead-with-smart-strategies

Love to hear what you all are focusing on for the new year. Leave your comments below.