By: Roxana Nicolescu, VP Brand Marketing & Social Media, Wego

Looking back, 2025 quietly taught me to always expect the unexpected.

What felt solid in the morning could unravel by the afternoon. Plans changed more often than they held. Things we thought were “set” suddenly weren’t. In marketing, in business, and honestly in everyday work life (and even beyond), there was a constant sense that the ground could move at any moment. And it often did.

Long-term planning, at least in the traditional sense, stopped making much room for reality. The idea that you can map things out far in advance and simply follow the line feels outdated now. What mattered more was having a clear sense of direction, while staying loose enough to adapt when things inevitably shifted.

The real lesson wasn’t about giving up on planning altogether, it was about learning to stay open and to adapt. To respond instead of resist. 2025 reminded me that progress doesn’t always come from sticking to the plan, but from knowing when to let it evolve.

I think 2026 will be a year of profound change, where the human side of work really comes back into focus.

Technology is getting louder and faster by the day. New tools arrive before we’ve fully mastered the last ones, and skills that once took years to build can suddenly feel fragile, even threatened. A lot of what we worked hard to learn (our knowledge, our technical expertise) will be challenged, automated, or reshaped in ways we can’t fully control.

And that’s exactly why the skills that will matter most won’t be technical ones alone. They’ll be the softer skills: listening well, reading the room, communicating clearly, staying calm in uncertainty. The things that don’t always fit neatly into a framework, but make all the difference when everything else is in flux.

There will be more value placed on people who can bring clarity without oversimplifying and confidence without pretending to have all the answers. In business especially, trust, empathy, and good judgment will quietly become essential.

2026 feels like a year where being human isn’t a weakness to smooth out, but a strength to lean into.