The Power of Intention: Why 2026 Success Starts with the Right Questions

Nearly ten years ago, I sat in a leadership training workshop feeling profoundly skeptical. The facilitator had just asked us to create vision boards—yes, those collages of magazine cutouts and inspirational quotes that I'd always dismissed as corporate cheese. I remember looking around the room, wondering if anyone else was internally rolling their eyes. I didn't like art class in first grade, and I wasn't interested in taking it now, either.

Volunteers placed stacks of magazines, scrapbooking paper and other small crafts, such as bubble letters and fake gems, onto the tables. I grabbed a couple of magazines and started snipping.

Interestingly, something shifted as I began working on mine. Maybe it was the forced pause from the daily grind or maybe it was the unexpected permission to dream out loud in a professional setting. Whatever the catalyst, I found myself genuinely engaging with the exercise. I cut out images representing a PhD, international travel and meaningful work that reached people. I arranged them carefully, wrote down specific goals and—this is the part that surprised me most—I kept it.

That vision board still sits in my office today. And here's what makes it remarkable: I actually accomplished those goals. I earned the PhD. I traveled and lived abroad. The specific milestones I'd outlined with magazine clippings and markers became my reality.

The vision board didn't work like magic, of course. It worked because it forced me to be intentional. It required me to articulate what success looked like before chasing it. And as we stand at the threshold of 2026, facing a marketing landscape that feels more uncertain than ever, I keep thinking about that lesson: choosing to be intentional about success is essential to actualizing that success.

The Questions Facing Marketers in 2026

If you're in marketing right now, you're probably wrestling with some version of these questions: How will AI fundamentally reshape creativity and job functions? What does the evolving landscape of ad-supported newsletters tell us about where audience attention is really going? Is there still oxygen left in the room when it comes to crowded social media platforms or are we all just shouting into an increasingly fragmented void?

These are legitimate concerns. AI tools are no longer experimental—they're operational, and they're changing workflows, content creation and even strategy development. Newsletter platforms are proliferating while also consolidating, creating both opportunity and confusion. Social media algorithms seem to change with the weather, and organic reach feels like a distant memory from a more innocent internet era.

But here's what I've learned from that decade-old vision board exercise: the answers to these tactical questions actually begin with more fundamental ones. Before we can determine how to navigate AI, newsletters, zero-click conversions or social media, we need to get clear on something deeper: What are we trying to build and why?

Starting with Theory Before Function

Most strategic planning sessions I've attended follow a familiar pattern: we dive straight into KPIs. We talk about click-through rates, conversion percentages, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend, etc. etc. etc. These metrics matter enormously; they are how we keep the lights on. But when we lead with them, we often build campaigns that are technically successful yet strategically hollow.

What if we flipped the order of operations? What if, before discussing any functional metric, we spent serious time on theoretical questions?

For example:

How do you want your brand to be known in 2026? Not just recognized, but known—understood at a deeper level by the people you're trying to reach. When someone encounters your organization, what should they immediately understand about who you are?

What values do you want consumers to associate with your brand? In an era where trust is increasingly fragile and consumers are more discerning than ever about which organizations earn their attention and dollars, value alignment isn't a nice-to-have. It's foundational. And it needs to be genuine, not performative.

What role do you want AI to play in your organization this year? This isn't a question about which tools to adopt. It's about philosophy. Will AI be a collaborator that frees your team for more creative work or will it be a cost-cutting mechanism that replaces human judgment? Will it amplify your voice or homogenize it? These are leadership decisions, not technical ones.

When you close 2026, what metrics outside of profitability will show you it's been a success? Maybe it's record giving for your nonprofit. Maybe it's reaching new demographics you've never connected with before. Maybe it's employee retention or creative output that you're genuinely proud of. Define this now or you'll reach next December wondering why brand loyalty is at an all-time low.

The "Who" Before the "How"

There's another layer to this intentionality that often gets overlooked: the people dimension. Before we optimize our funnels, we need to consider the "who" of our organizations.

Who is behind your brand? Not the logo or the mission statement—the actual humans doing the work. What are their strengths, their growth areas, their capacity levels? How are you investing in them? In a year when AI anxiety is high and job security feels uncertain for many in our field, clarity about the human element of your organization isn't just compassionate leadership; it's a strategic necessity.

Who keeps the wheels turning? Often it's not the people in the spotlight. It's the project managers who keep campaigns on track, the analysts who catch the crucial insight in the data, the customer service representatives who maintain relationships when something goes wrong. Understanding and honoring these roles is part of setting intention about what kind of organization you want to be. People make your organization work. Don't leave them behind.

When you're clear on the "who," both the people you serve and the people who make your work possible, the "how" becomes more obvious. You can then build toward functional metrics, such as open rates, click-throughs, conversions and overall sales, in a way that serves your larger intention rather than driving it.

Practical Intentions for 2026

So how does this actually work in practice? Let me offer a framework I've found helpful:

Start with a Strategic Pause: Before you build your 2026 plans, take time—real time, not a rushed hour between meetings—to articulate your vision. Write it down. Maybe even make a vision board if you're feeling brave (or just mildly creative). What does success look like holistically?

Define Your Non-Negotiables: What values or commitments will you protect even when they're inconvenient or costly? These become your guardrails when difficult decisions arise.

Set Layered Goals: Have your functional metrics, absolutely. But pair each one with a qualitative goal. If you're aiming for a 20% increase in conversions, what does that represent in terms of impact? More families served? More truth shared? More problems solved?

Build in Reflection Points: Schedule quarterly check-ins not just to review performance, but to ask whether you're still pursuing the right things in the right ways. Markets change. Priorities shift. Intention requires ongoing recalibration. The ideas you set into motion in January 2026 may look significantly different by the time July hits.

Be Willing to Say No: This might be the hardest part. When you're clear on your intention, you'll inevitably encounter opportunities that don't align with it. Passing on those opportunities (even good ones) is how you protect what matters most.

The Long Game

That vision board from a decade ago taught me something I didn't expect: intention compounds. The clarity I gained from that exercise didn't just help me accomplish those specific goals. It trained me to approach decisions differently, to ask better questions, to think more carefully about what I was building toward.

As we navigate 2026, with all its AI disruption, platform evolution and market uncertainty, the marketers who will thrive won't necessarily be those with the best tools or the biggest budgets. They'll be the ones who are most intentional about what they're trying to build and why.

So before you dive into campaign planning, before you set those KPIs, before you make a single tactical decision about where to allocate your time and budget—pause. Get clear. Choose your intention. The functional metrics matter. But they serve the vision, not the other way around.

What do you want to build in 2026? Answer that first, and everything else becomes clearer.

Ready to reach your audience with intention in 2026? Contact The Christian Post to explore advertising solutions that align with your brand's values and goals.