Our predictions for 2026

I keep having the same conversation with consultants lately. Different industries, different experience levels, same story: "My network's not giving me deals anymore." These aren't struggling consultants. These are people who built successful practices over ten, fifteen, twenty years on referrals and relationships. The phone stopped ringing. The introductions dried up. And most of them don't understand why. In this episode, I'm breaking down what's actually happening in the market right now, why the conditions that made network-dependent consulting work have permanently changed, and what the consultants who are still growing have figured out that everyone else hasn't.Show NotesThe conversation I keep having: Why consultants who built successful practices on referrals are suddenly watching their pipeline go quiet, and what's actually driving itTwo things happened at once: How constrained demand collided with a flood of new consultants to create the most competitive market I've ever seenThe scrutiny shift buyers won't tell you about: The questions decision-makers are now asking that most network-dependent consultants have never had to answerWhere AI actually hit consulting: It's not what you think. The real impact isn't replacement, it's raising the bar on what counts as work worth paying forWhat the consultants who are growing figured out: They stopped treating their network as the plan and started treating it as a bonus. The difference matters more than you'd expectWhy your network isn't coming back: The conditions that made referral-based consulting work have changed. I don't see them changing back. What to build instead