Hey COMMONer,

You didn't stumble into this community. And as we step into 2026, that matters more than ever.

You saw what others missed—back in 2010 when we launched, somewhere along the way, or recently when the cracks became undeniable. You recognized that the world had hit the edge. That the short game was a losing game. That someone needed to stand for the planet and everyone on it.

That's what makes you a COMMONer.

Not your industry. Not your geography. We span 42 industries, 47 countries, ages 22 to 80. We don't look alike. We don't do the same things. But when we meet, we know. The bond is structural, not sentimental or nostalgic—a context that carries forward, increases trust, raises standards, and creates continuity across people, teams, and time.

For 15 years, COMMON has leaned into the truth about business and its impact on our world. We launched when social entrepreneurship felt serious, academic, and small. We brought world-class business building, advertising, marketing, and communications firepower to a movement that needed edge and scale. Our rally cry—Do Shit That Matters—wasn't polite. It was a filter.

In all, we've worked with over 1,700 social enterprises, helping create more than $100 billion in organizational value and immeasurable social and environmental impact—Lyft, SodaStream, Snap Kitchen, Everytable, Economic Space Agency, Monks, and hundreds more.

2020 was an inflection point. The social enterprise space became polarized—caught in the same dynamics we were supposed to be solving. I saw a threat to social entrepreneurship and everything we'd built.

So I turned revenue off and went deep. Years into complexity science, conflict science, human intelligence methodologies. I developed Consilience—a methodology forged in the highest-stakes arenas on earth: preventing mass political violence in the 2024 U.S. election, identifying pathways to peace in the Middle East, protecting Democracy in Costa Rica, advising all 50 State Commissions for America's 250th anniversary.

Why does that matter to you? Because your operating environment now looks like those arenas. Polarized. Contested. Rapidly changing. The tools social entrepreneurship has traditionally taught—impact metrics, funding strategies, business models—assume a stable environment where good work speaks for itself.

That environment is gone.

2025 was the year the Grey Zone became the default operating mode of the global system. 2026 will be the year humans inside those systems start changing how they decide, justify, and delegate—the year that tells us what kind of era we're entering. Either fragmentation accelerates and power continues to detach from formal structures. Or, a new equilibrium begins to form.

What works to prevent political violence and find pathways to peace is exactly what you need to scale an enterprise in the Grey Zone. The first 90 days of 2026 will reveal who adapts and who gets relegated to the sidelines.

Most social enterprises don't have these capabilities. You now can.

We've built powerful strategic tools using complexity and conflict science that no other organization has—go from concept to market in weeks, diagnose stalled growth, decode markets, adapt fast, avoid blowback, etc. Use these tools independently or in connection with our marketing, advertising, data, technology, and production capabilities and services.

This era epitomizes Do Shit That Matters. It's no longer a posture. It's a survival requirement.

You already declared who you are when you joined this community. The question isn't whether to move—it's whether you move now. Either you position for what's coming, or it positions you.

Schedule a Fast Chat with me: Here

Or join our Slack community (free): Join here

The world is choosing between open and closed, fair and power concentrated. COMMONers are critical in determining which future we'll live in.

See you in 2026.

Be FearLess.

—Mark

PS: Share your thoughts on 2026: itmatters@common.is

COMMON helps social entrepreneurs scale in a world that's polarized, contested, and rapidly changing.

We use complexity and conflict science, strategic intelligence methods, and world-class advertising and growth services to help you move fast, avoid blowback, and increase your power and influence where it matters. BOOK A CALL WITH US.

Step Wise with Dr. Foster Mobley

Every system is changing—social, political, organizational, even our own nervous systems. Listen to Mark Eckhardt's conversation with Dr. Foster Mobley on the Step Wise podcast. Together, we explored what it means for leaders to face conflict in this pressurized time.

Join COMMON for Free

Join COMMON on Slack and connect with emerging leaders and startups who are building the next generation of social enterprises.