From shifting trade patterns to disrupted supply chains, today’s geopolitical landscape is defined by volatility. This puts greater pressure on governments to balance domestic priorities with a rapidly changing external environment. Effective strategies, supported by robust performance management, are essential. Performance Magazine delivers the insights and best practices to help leaders navigate this uncertainty.

Closing out Performance Magazine’s 10th anniversary, the Government Edition completes the narrative formed by previous editions—Employee Performance, AI, and Sustainability—highlighting the key trends that guided organizational success in 2025 and equipping leaders with lessons to tackle strategic priorities in 2026.

Here are 10 things you need to know about Performance Magazine’s 35th issue:

1. The issue coincides with the release of the latest edition of the Government Services Index (GSI) and features articles that conduct comprehensive analyses of the 2025 index’s findings, which can help readers benchmark their own governance practices and anticipate global trends. In particular, the cover story, “All Roads Lead to Governance”, shows which countries are future-ready according to the index.
2. The idea of digital government is reframed in the aptly titled “Digital Government Is Not What You Think”, giving readers a better idea of what it takes to provide citizens with responsive and effective digital services. 
3. The question of “What happens when governments invest in social welfare?” is answered in “The Economics of Compassion”. The article helps readers understand what defines a successful welfare state and how to achieve it.
4. In “Cracks in the System?”, we define what it takes for governments to remain resilient in the face of polarization, systemic shock, and geopolitical unrest.
5. Guest contributor Dr. Jon Truby offers tips to face the challenges of AI adoption in the public sector in “When AI Governance Becomes National Strategy”.
6. The interviews section features insights from two experts hailing from Saudi Arabia: Rayan Alzunaydi of the Qassim Health Cluster and Yara AlHazmi of the Ministry of Transport and Logistic Services. Alzunaydi goes over how to improve performance across multiple health facilities with varying degrees of maturity across a health cluster. Meanwhile, AlHazmi talks about how her organization tracks progress as it aims to grow Saudi Arabia’s logistics market.
7. The issue’s contributors hail from different countries across multiple continents, offering unique regional perspectives for our readers.
8. The issue contains 22 resources recommended by the Performance Magazine editorial team. These resources include statistics that give a snapshot of the current state of geopolitics as it relates to business strategy and performance management, as well as podcasts, publications, software, industry events, and academic literature that should prove useful to public sector professionals.
9. The issue also features a news section featuring reports of geopolitcal developments that will shape the business landscape over the next few months or even years.
10. As always, Performance Magazine Print Edition is free to download on TKI Marketplace. For a physical copy, Amazon charges a publishing fee (the price varies depending on the region). Grab your copy today!

Across industries, the art of developing people has become just as critical as refining products, which is reshaping how leaders invest in their workforce. Skill-building is no longer optional—it is strategic.

As organizations strive to remain adaptive and competitive, the demand for knowledgeable trainers and facilitators continues to grow. Strong talent development and modern training delivery are now central to organizational success.

Course overview

The KPI Institute’s Certified Training Professional course, presented by Maentae, is designed to strengthen participants’ capabilities in talent development and training delivery. This new program equips learners with practical skills in needs analysis, assessment, and the customization of training solutions for specific audiences.

Participants will also build strong competencies in training design, facilitation, and evaluation, using established instructional design models and measurement frameworks. By the end of the course, they will be able to:

• Conduct a focused Training Needs Analysis (TNA) aligned with organizational goals
• Apply proven instructional design models and learning theories to create effective learning experiences
• Develop structured training programs that integrate diverse methods and activities
• Facilitate engaging and high-impact training sessions
• Use evaluation tools to measure training effectiveness and identify areas for improvement

Benefits and importance

This course strengthens core training capabilities and equips participants with practical tools they can immediately apply in their organizations. In addition, learners gain several key benefits, including:

• Apply instructional design models such as ADDIE and SAM
• Design courses with SMART objectives and engaging training materials
• Evaluate training impact using methods like Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels and ROI
• Six-month access to smartKPIs.com with 500 documented KPIs and 20,000+ listed KPIs, and one Top 25 KPIs research report

Course structure and methodology

The course follows a three-part learning journey totaling approximately 40 hours:

1. Pre-course stage: Participants will assess their skills, engage with other learners in a live forum, and establish a strong start to the group learning journey.
2. Core-course stage: Focuses on active participation in course sessions, developing an individual learning map, preparing for exams, creating presentations, and evaluating training demos.
3. After-course stage: Participants will provide course feedback, engage in forum discussions, reflect in a learning journal, explore additional readings, and create a tailored action plan aligned with their organization’s needs.

Upon completion of the training, participants will be awarded the following certificates (soft copy):

• Certificate of Attendance: given after participating in the five-day live session course
• Certificate of Completion: presented upon completion of the pre-course activities and the online certification exam
• Certified Professional Diploma: awarded upon successfully completed all three stages of the learning experience

The journey through The KPI Institute’s Certified Training Professional course is just the beginning. Designed for a workforce where training is now strategic, the program equips trainers to meet rising organizational expectations with confidence.

Are you ready to take the next step? Read more about the program and sign up to secure your spot. Visit https://kpiinstitute.org/certified-training-professional/ for more information.

The 2026 State of Strategy Management Practice Survey is live! Gain exclusive resources to strengthen your strategy while sharing your insights on AI, agility, governance, and sustainability in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) organizations. Join the survey here!

Most organizations can create strategies, but they struggle to execute them. Plans are approved and targets set, yet day-to-day realities often derail results. As MENA organizations face rapid change, strategy leaders must do more than plan. They must adapt, execute, and deliver. To capture how organizations are responding, The KPI Institute launched the 2026 State of Strategy Management Practice Survey.

The survey invites strategy and performance professionals across the region to share their perspectives on the challenges most likely to shape strategy execution in 2026. These include artificial intelligence (AI) integration in decision-making, accelerating planning cycles, growing governance and compliance demands, and rising sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) expectations. 

This forward-looking initiative builds on key insights from the State of Strategy Management Practice – 2025 MENA Region report. Last year’s findings revealed a region in transition, with strategic planning becoming more formal and structured, signaling greater maturity in long-term decision-making. At the same time, execution challenges persisted. Confidence in translating strategy into measurable outcomes declined for the second consecutive year, with nearly 80% of professionals reporting firsthand experience with execution failure.

The 2025 data also highlighted an evolution in performance management systems, with organizations increasingly prioritizing agility, alignment, and accountability—while still facing gaps in capability and execution, particularly between large organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Together, these insights underscore a clear message: strong plans are not enough. Execution capability will define organizational success in 2026.

With this, The KPI Institute invites you to share your perspective on emerging challenges in 2026 and welcomes your 2026 strategy prediction. Join the survey now and receive access to exclusive resources, including the Top 25 Strategy and Performance KPIs – 2025 Edition and the State of Strategy Management Practice – 2025 MENA Region report. 

Have you also felt it? The nagging sense that being busy is not the same as being successful. As we move into 2026, the old metrics of long hours and ceremonial accolades are being replaced by something more meaningful. The search for meaning begins with discovering your priorities, whether for yourself or at work. Reflections and touchstones can guide how those insights take shape.

To help organizations and professionals navigate this, The KPI Institute and the Institute for Life Management Science have teamed up to release the Top 25 Personal KPIs – 2025 Edition. It is a research-backed blueprint for self-mastery in 2026. This updated report moves beyond traditional productivity to offer a holistic framework of 25 essential metrics, including enhanced templates and expert insights on AI-native workflows and mental resilience. 

At the core of this framework is the concept of personal performance—the progress a person makes toward their own goals. It shows how well someone manages their time, energy, and money to reach the outcomes they want. Unlike organizational performance, which follows standardized goals and external benchmarks, personal performance is shaped by individual values and priorities. It covers different areas of life, including health and well-being, daily productivity and habits, relationships, learning and career development, and financial stability.

Translating progress across these areas requires clear measurement. A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measurable way to track progress toward a personal goal, turning intentions into actionable metrics that support better decisions and continuous growth. Personal KPIs can be monitored using tools ranging from digital apps and habit trackers to spreadsheets, journals, and goal-planning platforms.

To bridge this gap, the 2025 edition highlights 25 critical metrics, organized across six key categories essential for gaining a competitive edge in both life and work:

1. Personal Productivity – measures how effectively individuals organize their time, energy, and activities to accomplish both personal and professional objectives. Examples include:

• % Goals achievement
• % Personal idle time 
• # Work procrastination.

2. Personal Resilience – evaluates an individual’s ability to manage adversity, adapt to change, and sustain mental and emotional well-being during periods of stress, such as:

•  #Emotional agility
• # Proactive coping capacity
• # Social support

3. Well-being – centers on overall physical, mental, and emotional health, incorporating practices that both prevent burnout and support recovery. It includes indicators like:

• # Psychological well-being
• # Burnout risk 
• # Work-life balance rating

4. Happiness – reflects perceived life satisfaction, emotional balance, and overall subjective well-being. Examples include: 

• # State of joy
• # Leisure satisfaction 
• # Optimism index 

5. Longevity – tracks lifestyle and health-related behaviors that support a longer, healthier life, including nutrition, sleep quality, and physical activity. Some of the indicators that can be used to track Longevity are:

• # Red blood cells (RBC) 
• # Cholesterol level

6. Affluence – assesses financial security and stability through measures such as savings habits, diversified income streams, and long-term investment growth, which can be measured through, but not limited to:

• $ Net worth at certain ages
• % Passive income 
• #Lifestyle sustainability ratio

Recognizing these dimensions is only the starting point. The six categories above provide a comprehensive framework, but knowing how to track and apply these metrics is what turns insight into action. By measuring your progress, you gain clarity on what’s working, what needs adjustment, and how to align daily habits with your bigger goals.

By using the Top 25 Personal KPIs – 2025 Edition, you’re not just tracking data—you are understanding your own rhythm. In 2026, the most successful people won’t have the longest to-do lists, but the clearest insight into their progress.

Discover the top five most-used and popular Personal KPIs and learn how to apply all 25 metrics in your life by downloading the Top 25 Personal KPIs – 2025 Edition, available both on the TKI Marketplace and Amazon.