I love January. Always have. The prospect of a turned page to a new, fresh year never fails to spark my optimism. This is particularly exciting time for me as after five years we’ve spun off our consultancy, jacobstahl, from the company that acquired us to be independent again.
A good time to be independent in the comms business, I think.
I’ve always had a thing for being a founder; many of my clients have been doctor-entrepreneurs or scientist-entrepreneurs, and I’ve admired those in other industries who created great brands, grew and sold them, and then did something equally great afterwards. To name a few: David Droga (Droga4, Accenture), Sara Blakely (Spanx) Julie Rice and Elizabeth Cutler (SoulCycle), Bobbi Brown (Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, Jones Road) and recently, Peter ter Kulve, CEO of Magnum, who late last year broke his ice-cream company away from the parent company and said he’s learned the ‘scoop is more important than the spreadsheet.’
The learning I want to share here is this: ‘the solve is more important than the sell’ articulated best by David Droga, a point of view I’ve long held and my focus for 2026.
Communications is a value-multiplier and an integral service all brands and businesses in healthcare, my area of specialty, and other industries will always need. Focusing on the solve plays directly into the sweet spot of communications and how our discipline makes critical contribution to business success. Make no mistake: the ‘solve’ is by no means a soft objective compared with the ‘sell’ associated with sales, considered by many to be a hard ROI. When comms solves successfully, promptly, with authenticity and human ingenuity, the ‘sell’ comes, and with that, business growth and impact.
Here are a few reasons:
- When we focus on the ‘solve,’ we engage in active listening. We dig deeper to understand stakeholders’ (internal and external) issues, needs, frustrations and aspirations. We ask the questions that force detailed answers, impart emotion, and ‘paint inside the lines.’ The result is a complete, nuanced picture that yields clarity of the next steps.
- Selling is transactional. Solving is partnership. Communications at its heart is all about two-way relationships—this is fundamental to our training and how comms differentiates from other disciplines (with which we often compete for budget and attention). Connections that result from a ‘solve’ focus yield the stories—the real-world experiences and anecdotes, the kinds that are memorable, compelling and add a human component to everything we do in communications whether narrative work, executive leadership, content and more.
- When we focus on the solve, we use new technology and tools for the right reasons. There are many ways to leverage AI – digital twinning, predictive analytics, micro-targeting, for example, now at all our fingertips. Staying true to a ‘solve’ objective points us directly to the tools that make sense.
- When we focus on the ‘solve,’ the endgame is value infused with trust, loyalty and belief. We move from presenting brand attributes to the presentation of our brand (whether product, company or leader) as one that truly sees, hears and recognizes stakeholders and can be trusted to address their lack of awareness, desire for connection, dissatisfaction, frustration or health issue. This approach not only tackles the immediate need (and in so doing, persuade, influence, and support the sales environment) –but shows (vs. tells) that the brand understands the bigger picture, and is their partner for the long-term.
Successful solving of business and stakeholder challenges and opportunities is a primary way we future-proof communications – our role, our contributions, our budgets, our seat at the table.
For the growth of my own newly independent consultancy, focusing on the ‘solve’ is liberating. It frees me from the pressures of the ‘sell’ and the related spreadsheets and the revenue targets that drive large agencies. Clients can be assured I care and am truly invested in solving for their brands and reputation — not just the fees. As the senior consultant in the room, I can actually lead and do the work–not just the pitch. With strategic and creative energies dedicated to succeeding at the solve, the business and the budgets will come.
I’m looking to the months ahead with optimism, excited to do more of what I love for healthcare companies and organizations, solve and partner with people I know and those I’ve yet to meet and continue sharing my experience and thoughts in this column. For all the AI tools we’ll be using in 2026, successful communications is very much about the people, their voices and experiences, dialogue, collaboration, perspectives, understanding and energy.
Wishing an optimistic January to all, whatever you’ve been through during a tumultuous 2025 and a happy, healthy, inspired, fulfilling 2026.
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