Get Your 2026 Signshop Message Ready!

“PLAY LIKE A Champion Today” was the message on the very first sign we’ve ever made, 22 years ago. It was ordered by one of my best friends who wanted to be my first customer as a sign of his love and support for my new business venture.

This famous locker room message, first penned in 1940 by Bud Wilkinson, head coach of the University of Oklahoma Sooners football team, is now ubiquitous in locker rooms across the US. For the Sooners, it was displayed on a sign just by the exit from the locker room to the field. Every player was told to touch the sign as they passed on their way to practice or games as an inspiration to do their best work.

It is a reminder of the big picture, and a call to do the best work they could on the field.

Every team thrives under leadership that unites them, inspiring them to reach higher and do better. Pride in your work matters, even if you are the person who sweeps the floors.

For 2026, I invite you to create that “before you take the field” message you will share with your team. An overarching message that helps them remember to dial into the work in front of them with the right mindset.

Maybe you want to focus on improving customer satisfaction: “Every Customer Matters.”

Maybe you want to build closer relationships with your team: “Together We Achieve More.”

Maybe your team needs to stop fighting over mistakes and instead focus on gaining skills together: “Learn from Yesterday.”

You can use AI or Google to generate sample messages around your theme.

By finding a core theme that you, as the leader, want to use as your company message for 2026, you have a chance to stand on that platform all year and really help your team change how they see themselves and their work.

Our 2026 theme is “Respect the Craft.” This is a reminder that what we do is not easy; it takes education and experience as well as exceptional attention to detail. This theme will be used all of 2026 to help us keep in mind all the ways we show the craft respect:

• Charge adequately for our time and materials.
• Pass projects between departments with care and thorough communication.
• Show respect for how each department makes a project successful by making problem-solving a team effort.
• Take the time it takes to be done right; do not rush through, pushing projects, and ignore what huge amounts of work are invested to get a project going.

We have plans for wall decals to be shown around the company with the new logo. We will have team meeting discussions that center on questions like, “Am I respecting the craft of the installers when I ask them to squeeze in ‘one more’ project on a busy day?” As the CEO, I will repeat this message all year long, helping our team tune into what makes our company successful.

I’ll continue to wave the banner of “Respect the Craft” throughout 2026. It will be shorthand to help my team pause their normal routine and think critically in the moment.

As a business owner or team leader, it is your opportunity and responsibility to shape the experience of your team and encourage them to do their best work!

Start off 2026 with a powerful and cohesive theme, then get out there and Play Like a Champion Today!