Hi Reader
This is one of those rare weeks where the work calendar loosens its grip. The inbox is quieter, the pressure lifts and there’s room to read simply because something is interesting rather than urgent. I’ve pulled together this edition with that pause in mind – thoughtful pieces that reward a slower read, offer perspective rather than prescriptions and feel well suited to the space between one year ending and another beginning.
Enjoy!
Why UK boards may be mispricing non-executive talent
On paper, £81,000 for a part-time NED role can look generous. In practice, a new report suggests it may be part of a growing problem for UK boards. Fees for FTSE 100 non-executive directors have fallen nearly 12 per cent in real terms over the past decade, even as regulatory scrutiny, legal exposure and time commitment have increased. Compared with US peers – where similar roles are paid several times more – UK boards risk narrowing the pool to those wealthy enough to absorb the burden. The concern is not sympathy for directors, but whether London-listed companies are undermining their ability to attract independent, experienced challenge when they need it most. For SME leaders considering a first NED role, or already balancing one alongside an operating job, it raises a more personal question: whether the expectations, risks and responsibilities of modern boards are being priced honestly at every level of the market. The FT has the story.
Over 130 trend reports. Summarised in one doc.
You may remember that I dropped a link to the ‘deck of decks’ a couple of weeks ago, a huge compilation of some of the year’s most significant trend predictions. Did you read them all? Silly question, of course you didn’t – because you have a life, a job and a family. Rather smartly though, someone has dropped every deck into NotebookLM to create a 4,000-word summary of all the findings. You can check it out here.
Looking for a 2026 side hustle? Start here.
A wide-ranging piece from Entrepreneur captures how side hustles are evolving from spare-time experiments into serious income engines. Drawing on examples from tutoring and content creation to niche e-commerce and product launches, it shows how people are using evenings and weekends to test ideas, find product–market fit and, in some cases, replace full-time salaries altogether. What stands out is less the novelty of the hustles themselves and more the pattern: low upfront risk, rapid validation and the option to scale only once demand is proven. For anyone thinking about building optionality into 2026, it’s a useful snapshot of how your skills can be used outside of the 9-5. Read the article here.
Why Charlie Munger kept backing new ideas to the end
I enjoyed a recent Wall Street Journal profile on Charlie Munger – Warren Buffett’s long-time partner at Berkshire Hathaway. Best known for helping shape one of the most successful capital allocators in history, Munger remained intellectually restless into his late 90s – questioning how AI might reshape long-held assumptions, mentoring younger partners and placing fresh, sometimes unfashionable bets. He co-invested in large-scale real estate with a much younger neighbour, and even made a late, contrarian wager on coal that generated tens of millions of dollars. My take from it was the importance of staying engaged with new ideas and new people. By keeping curiosity alive, your judgement stays sharp. Read the story here (paywalled but you can access through Archive.)
The mistake businesses still make with digital ads
Meta’s latest advice on “creative diversification” is worth attention because it signals a shift in how paid social now works. The platform is no longer rewarding brands that find one winning ad and optimise it to death. Instead, it favours those that give the system meaningful choices: genuinely different formats, angles, tones and visual ideas, anchored in how different audiences make decisions. The argument is not for more content, but better variety – a deliberate creative ecosystem rather than endless minor tweaks. For SMEs running ads themselves, the message is simple. You now have far less control over targeting, and far more responsibility for the quality and range of your creative. AI can optimise at scale, but only if you give it genuinely different ideas to work with. Find out more here.
Social commerce is moving from edge case to default
New UK research suggests social commerce is no longer a sideshow. Non-food purchases via platforms like TikTok and Instagram are expected to top £9bn this year, with Gen Z already treating social feeds as both search engine and shopfront. Trust is shifting too: younger buyers are far more likely to rely on creators than brands when deciding what to buy. As discovery, persuasion and purchase converge, the brands that perform best will be those built to operate in public, at speed and without relying solely on traditional brand authority. Retail Gazette has the story.
A meditation on attention at year end
Like you, like everyone – I’m on my phone a lot. And one thing I’d like to take into 2026 is to be more present and less distracted by that small glowing rectangle. That’s why this Substack piece, written as a series of short meditations, struck a chord. It explores why so many of us reach for our screens in moments of boredom, discomfort or silence – not out of necessity, but out of unease with stillness itself. Read slowly, ideally without a phone in hand. It feels well suited to the ‘Twixmas’ days between years, when the noise briefly drops and habits become easier to notice. Check it out here.
Why the AI gap is widening faster than expected
OpenAI’s latest enterprise report puts numbers on something many leaders only sense anecdotally. So-called “frontier” firms – those that have properly embedded AI into daily work – are already sending six times more messages and more than twice as many prompts per seat than the median company. The result is a sharp polarisation: while many organisations claim they’re struggling to scale AI, a smaller group is compounding usage, speed and output. OpenAI estimates its heaviest enterprise users are saving more than 10 hours a week. Heading into 2026, the challenge is whether firms can cross a widening implementation gap before it becomes a structural disadvantage. Read the report here.
AI prompt of the week: your first 100 days of 2026
The gap between ambitious New Year goals and actual January execution is where most business plans go to die. The difference isn't motivation - it's having a realistic, sequenced roadmap that builds momentum rather than overwhelm. The first 100 days set the tone for your entire year: get the pacing right and you create compound progress; get it wrong and you're firefighting by March.
Design my critical first 100 days of 2026. My priorities: [top 3-5 business objectives]. Ask me a series of questions about my business and then create a week-by-week roadmap: which initiatives to launch when, early momentum builders, what to explicitly delay until Q2, key metrics to track and decision points where I'll assess whether to continue, pivot, or stop each initiative.
Before setting new goals, fix the start of the day
Ambition tends to get the credit, but routines do the heavy lifting. The start of the day is one of the few moments you can still shape with intent. You don’t have to do all of these, but even choosing one or two will help protect your energy for what lies ahead.
Drop me a line
If you’ve been reading this newsletter for a while, thank you. If something in this edition makes you pause, rethink or push back, I’d genuinely like to hear about it. Just reply to this email – I read every message. And finally, I wish you good health, happiness and business success for the year ahead.
Cheers!
Adam