Every December, leaders everywhere sit down with the same familiar ritual: drafting resolutions. Lose the waste. Grow the revenue. Fix the culture. Get more focused, more organized, more intentional. And every March, most of those resolutions are quietly… forgotten. So this year, let’s try something far more powerful and memorable. Write your six-word story. If that phrase rings a bell, thank Ernest Hemingway. Legend has it that Hemingway once accepted a barroom challenge to write an entire story in just six words. His now-famous line: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Six words. Infinite depth. This article is part of Branding Strategy Insider’s newsletter. Join the world’s smartest marketers and subscribe here for actionable insights delivered directly to your inbox. The magic is in the compression. A six-word story forces clarity, courage, and commitment. Exactly what leaders need heading into 2026. And that’s why the question on the sketch, “What’s your six-word story?”, isn’t a gimmick. It’s a strategy. Why Six Words Work Better Than Resolutions Resolutions tend to be vague (“be a better leader”), overly ambitious (“double revenue”), or mushy (“improve communication”). A six-word story, on the other hand, must: • Capture a direction, not a detail • Establish a belief, not a box to check • Inspire action, not pressure It’s not about what you will do. It’s about who you will be — as a company, a team, a leader. Resolutions fade. Stories propel. Six-Word Stories For 2026 To get the gears turning, here are a few six-word stories…