LEAD DIFFERENT - Issue 22

Welcome to Lead Different - rethinking communication for strategic minds in B2B tech.

This week in:

• Reputation and Trust - The new rules of trust in 2026

• Narrative Power - Captivate your audience with story hooks

• Influence and Framing - How to set the tone for what’s coming next

• Crucial Conversations - 3 questions to ask to prepare for next year

• Internal Comms - Stay human as you manage employee shifts

• Getting Clear - As the world spins out of control, keep it simple

• Ask Edith - How to future-proof your career before a layoff occurs

• In The News - Is Amazon telling the truth re 14,000 layoffs? Canberra protects creatives’ rights & NVIDIA signs a new partnership.

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Reputation & Trust – how to earn trust or get it back

How Trust Is Earned Now

In the age of AI, trust isn’t just about transparency; it’s about traceability.

People want to see the path between intention, action, and outcome:

❔Who made the call?
❔What data shaped it?
❔Why should I believe it?

As automation blurs accountability, leaders must show their fingerprints, owning the reasoning behind decisions, not just the results. That’s the new currency of credibility.

For example, when leaders change course on a major commitment – like pricing, privacy, or sustainability – without clearly explaining why, trust and confidence among customers and investors can slip.

As 2026 approaches, credibility depends on remaining visible and human in the way decisions are made.

Narrative Power – The leadership story playbook

Use Story Hooks

Before you start a speech, sales presentation, or investor pitch, use one of these three story hooks – depending on who your audience is, how comfortable you are with them, and how bold you want to be – to grab attention and spark imagination.

1. Inspire them with possibility: “Imagine if…” Paint a picture of a success scenario - specific, grounded in reality, yet aspirational - then reveal the path to that future step by step.

2. Shock them with a cliffhanger: Open with a moment of crisis or high stakes before you even introduce yourself, then connect it to how your solution turns the situation around.

3. Draw them in with contrast: Before/after, risk/reward, doubt/belief. E.g., “twelve months ago, you were struggling to keep up with competitors. Today, you’ve been ranked in TechCrunch’s top 3 innovators. The question now – how do you move from number three to number one?”

Story hooks work best when your audience sees themselves in the story – either as the hero or an active participant. They become even more powerful when you engage the five senses: Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste, and Touch.

Influence & Framing – Small moves, big impact

How Will You Frame 2026 to Influence Your Audience?

The questions you ask now will shape how people see your company next year. Like:

1. What single word should define how people describe us in 2026 - and what will make it true?

2. Are we shaping the AI narrative in our space – or letting others define it for us?

3. What’s the message competitors will wish they’d said first?

4. If top engineers compared our mission to Big Tech’s, what would make them choose us?

5. What industry assumption can we challenge to make people see our value differently?

6. What can we add to thought leadership that gives customers the fresh perspective they crave?

7. How do we frame our current challenges as future triumphs?

8. What can we offer that’s provocative, unexpected – and impossible to ignore?

It’s time to start thinking about how to own the frame – to shape the narrative before competitors and analysts do it for you.

Crucial Conversations – Navigating high-stakes comms

High-Stakes Questions To Get Ahead of Next Year

It’s time to get ready for the major questions that tech leaders need to prepare for in 2026

1. Ethics in AI & trust – Deep questions around bias, transparency, rights and mental health as AI becomes pervasive.

2. Tech spend & value communication – With budgets under pressure, leaders, especially CIOs must explain not just what they’re spending, but why it matters to investors, partners and the business.

3. Sustainability of tech operations & supply chain – Energy use, ethical sourcing, and data sovereignty are becoming board-level issues. Leaders will need to handle tough conversations with regulators, customers and employees.

These aren’t about optional extras, they’re the conversations your stakeholders will demand.

Internal Comms – How to connect, not just inform

When the Message Is Hard, Humanity Matters the Most

2026 will bring workforce shifts few want to talk about. Some roles will evolve fast; others will fade.

1. The message can’t be sugar-coated, but it can be human.

2. Communicate early, show the path to further training or exit, and clearly explain why it’s needed.

3. Balance empathy with confidence – acknowledge uncertainty without fuelling fear.

Navigating the employee shift will require a deft approach. Massive layoffs from tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon have already created trepidation.

What’s your next move in communicating this shift while striding with confidence into the future?

Getting Clear – Communication that cuts through 

The Harder the Times, the Plainer the Words

In a world full of noise, heightened uncertainty and nervous, fearful energy, plain English is power.

Simple and straightforward language builds trust while long-winded and highfalutin language destroys it.

The best communicators in 2026 won’t act like they have the answers; they’ll steady the room by listening closely, use fewer words and speak plainly.

So, skip the superlatives, drop the spin, and say what matters simply – and you’ll stand out from other tech companies banging their drums loudly.

Calm, direct words cut through complexity and fear better than any lofty company slogan or purpose statement ever will.

Ask Edith - Your communication challenges, answered

Future-proofing Your Career When Layoffs Loom

Q: Layoffs are sweeping tech, and I’m worried I could be next. I’ve got a mortgage, school fees, and a career I don’t want to lose. How do I prepare if redundancy happens to me?

A: Don’t wait for a tap on the shoulder; get visible now. Reconnect with people you trust in tech and ask for short, genuine catch-ups or introductions to decision-makers. Update your resume and LinkedIn, ideally with the help from someone who knows how to thread in the right keywords for automated scans. Attend tech events, panels, and meetups to stay informed and connected. Share and comment on LinkedIn to show how you think, not self-promotion, but offer clear ideas that challenge convention respectfully. At the same time, review your finances and focus your networking on a few target companies where you’d genuinely like to work.

Got a communication challenge you want answered in the next issue of this newsletter? Reply to this email with your question and I’ll give you my perspective.

IN THE NEWS

A weekly look at tech leaders and companies in the news, how they communicate, and my verdict on whether they nailed it or missed the mark.