2026 Outlooks are overlooking 7 fiduciary blind spots
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Happy Friday and Happy New Year S3T Readers! Hope you had some well deserved rest and reflection over the Holidays, and are re-energized to drive positive beneficial innovation in 2026!
The 2026 Predictions and Outlooks are all out now...
most with lofty visions of hoped for tech spend and bullish investments. Many do allude to the worrying developments of 2025 and storms on the future horizon. But decision makers and their teams need a crisp clear guide to the blind spots that could sink the best laid plans and strategies in 2026.
Think of this as your S3T Overlook Report - the blind spots you do not want to overlook - areas where you and your team may not be as aware and alert as you need to be in order to effectively navigate the opportunities - and the risks. You would not be alone in that: in fact, many are not aware of the blind spots that we'll be talking about today.
This newsletter and podcast will give you a preview of 2 of the top blind spots and how they could sabotage the ROI of key investments that you're making in 2026.
🏆 Paid memberships have access to the full 2026 Overlook Report here - if you are not already a paid member, you can quickly sign up here.
One more very important point: We warn about these blind spots not to make you stop or even slow down. What we want to do is to understand issues that might not be getting enough coverage - where we might be lacking information and insight and need to be extra careful as we navigate. Where there may be pitfalls that we want to avoid as we find our way forward.
Let's dive in.
Blind Spot #1. Low-trust high-grievance fuels volatile behaviors
The Edelman Trust Barometer is an annual survey that gauges global levels and dimensions of trust. Keep in mind this survey spans 28 countries not just the US.
The latest report shows:
- 61% of respondents hold a moderate or higher sense of grievance against businesses, governments, the media and non-government organizations
- 40% say they approve of hostile acts (disinformation, violence, vandalism) in order to force change.
- This trend has coincided with increased spend on securing the loyalty of customers - 15.7% growth in 2025 to $27B - and is expected to set new records in the years ahead.
Governments, businesses and the media all face an unprecedented social environment of high-grievance low-trust.
Takeaway: Leaders cannot afford to take business as usual approaches to brand, marketing and reputation. Leaders need to plan for prevalence of extreme behaviors and unpredictable decision-making in markets, purchase choices and elections - all driven by low-trust. Trust is based on accountability and human presence, something that ironically many customer-facing AI functions are actually obscuring.
Leaders willing to take contrarian positions and apply customer facing AI more carefully will reap a windfall of something that is not very abundant these days: Trust.
Blind Spot #2. AI misapplied is a value eraser
In 2024-2025 GenAI came to be misunderstood as the only form of AI that mattered. This misperception led to expensive detours for 95% of companies adopting GenAI.
Many of these unnecessary detours were caused by one blind spot that most firms don't factor in: AI Agents are not (yet) reliable at capturing intent. Consider how many times you have called and talked to an AI agent that said, "I'm sorry I didn't get that", or an agent insisted on trying to solve the wrong problem for you even after you repeatedly asked for a human being.
If you don't have a reliable way of capturing the customers intent, then you have no objective basis for measuring the success rate and ROI of your AI agent.
In 2026, investors and boards should insist that leaders to be more specific about AI use cases and what specific forms of AI best serve them - rather than invoking GenAI as the answer to everything.
Economics will force a reckoning, as expensive AI fails to stay ahead of cheaper AI.
To continue learning about Blindspots 3-7 Click here to continue reading the entire report or click the banner below.
Ralph Perrine
To summarize: 2026 will be a Bewildering Basket of Change -
You have the opportunity here to learn about critical blind spots that quietly undermine even the most thoughtful strategies. These are not failures of effort or intent—they are gaps in visibility that emerge during periods of rapid change, complexity, and uncertainty.
The fact that you are reading this signals you are already committed to making 2026 count—to leading with intention, protecting your team from avoidable risk, and steering toward real opportunity rather than inherited assumptions.
By helping your team recognize these overlooked dynamics early, you materially improve your odds of success. Strong change leadership in 2026 will belong to those who can see clearly, adapt quickly, and guide others with confidence through what is still forming.
As noted in Voronoi’s 2026 Prediction Bingo Card, 2026 promises to be a bewildering basket of change - and a fascinating year. Let's keep learning and moving forward together!
Which will be most impactful to you?
S3T Premium Content Updated for 2026
- Signals: Top sources for forward looking economic & tech insights - your curated short list of essential data, analysis, and trend sources for maintaining your own independent forward looking perspective.
- Helping young adults get started will continue to be challenging. This Personal Finance toolkit can help them learn how to plan and manage their path to financial literacy and security.
Opinions and views expressed are those of the individuals and do not reflect the official positions of companies or organizations those individuals may be affiliated with. Not financial, investment or legal advice, and no offers for securities or investment opportunities are intended. Mentions should not be construed as endorsements. Authors or guests may hold assets discussed or may have interests in companies mentioned.
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