Reader:

How to project your results for 2026, make people accountable, and have your best year ever!

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Morning Minute 10.28.25​
“Planning: How Leaders Win the Future!”

Five steps to build buy-in and achieve breakthrough results.

Have you ever wondered how some leaders seem to get so much done in a single day? They set bold goals, rally their teams, and achieve what others say can’t be done. What’s their secret? They’ve mastered the leadership skill of…planning ahead.

Let me give you an example.

In the auto business, many dealers work hard all month to hit their goal — then start planning for the next month after the old one ends. They spend the first week setting goals for a month that’s already 15 to 20% gone. Then comes a last-minute fire sale to catch up. And the cycle repeats.

There is a better way — one that turns planning into leadership.

First, remember: Leaders own the future. Your job is to plan it — not react to it.
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Here’s a simple five-step process that has helped my teams grow profits by up to 500% year over year:

1. Start with real numbers. Review your October results and find your average month’s performance for each line item.

2. Project next year. Have your managers forecast 2026 for each line item — and justify their growth goals.

3. Get buy-in. Have each manager share those goals with their teams and define how they’ll get there through adjustments in the 4 Ps; people, process, products, and promotion.

4. Build action plans. Managers detail how they’ll achieve their goals by managing those 4 Ps. You review, adjust, and approve their plan.

5. Present and commit. In December, hold a planning meeting where everyone presents their 2026 plan. Because they helped create the plan, they’ll own the outcome. And, they will have a blueprint to keep them on track for success.

When your people build their plan, they believe in it — and when they believe in it, they will deliver it.

Today’s Morning Minute Challenge:

How will you project & plan your 2026 success — before the year begins? Let’s schedule a short phone call to discover how this process will help you win big in 2026!

“Planning: How Leaders Win the Future!

That is today’s Morning Minute!

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Projecting for 2026 can be complicated, your team may not understand how to complete their forecast, and your finished product may not hold yourself or your people accountable for the projected results. Let's schedule a short, free 15-20 minute phone call. Let me explain this process in detail. Then you can decide if having a 2026 projection authored by your team leaders, with buy-in from your team members, that keeps everyone focused on winning, is the best way forward in 2026. Text me at 864-630-2625 or drop me an email at lab@larryonlearning.com.

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Here are some recent Morning Minutes you may have missed with actionable ideas, useful instruction, and step-by-step methods to help you, your family, and/or your team to be more, do more, and achieve more.

"Leaders: Be Someone Worth Following!" Your actions, and your character, speak much louder than your words. From my book WORK WITH ME NOT FOR ME learn the 6 leadership roles required of the most successful leaders. Discover 4 examples from my life that share how leaders, both good and not-so-good, have taught me how to be a leader worth following!

"Supercharge Your Selling with Options "The Rule of 3!" Help clients first decide what they want. Then show them how to get it! Discover John, a car salesman who learned the value of offering his clients multiple payment options. Learn how the "Rule of 3" helps you not only provide choices to your clients - it helps you client decide which option provides them with a better outcome.

"The Pursuit of Power, Wealth, & Influence!" This message helps you understand what truly drives those who seek to lead. Discover how that the pursuit of power, wealth, and influence display how that many politicians seek political office to control, rather than to lead. Learn how they benefit themselves when in office, with many far richer than when they entered office.

"FATHERS: Your Families Will Always Need You!" Fathers engagement with, commitment to, and leadership in their families is essential! Learn why that today's children have no structure, no manners, and take no responsibility for themselves or their actions. Discover 3 actions that fathers must take to help their children develop into responsible adults.

"Life's a Journey - Not a Guilt Trip!" Don't allow past mistakes, bad choices, or events to destroy the rest of your life! Life sometimes is negatively affected by bad choices or unexpected events. Learn how to overcome those set-backs. Discover 4 actionable steps to lesson the pain or loss you experience when these setbacks occur.

"Family: Building Your Most Important Team!" This is your guide to creating strong families through love, devotion, and consistent action! Discover 7 key characteristics of strong families. Learn how that shared responsibility, open dialog, setting an example of acceptable behaviors, accepting & demonstrating life skills like honesty & forgiveness, plus personal & financial responsibility develops children into strong adults. Discover the importance of keeping God in your family life!

"Closer to the Problem - Faster to the Solution!" Leaders win by listening to and working with those closest to the problem. Discover 3 real life instances where getting close to the problem helped Ray Kroc, Eli Whitney, and Gen, George Patton to overcome obstacles by getting close to the people involved in the problem and working through them to achieve success. Learn how you can use this process for your success!

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Reminder:

2026 will be here very soon. You have a much greater chance of success for the upcoming year with a solid plan to take advantage of the many opportunities that 2026 will bring. Plus, you want to avoid anticipated issues with people, process, products/services, and promotions that operating in an election year may present.

For instance: If you will be advertising in broadcast media you need a plan to get the lowest rates for the year. I can help you accomplish that, saving you money, while making your ad buys more effective.

Text me at 864-630-2625, or email at lab@larryonlearning.com. Let make 2026 your best year yet.

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May God bless you, your family, and your team.

Larry A. Bonorato

(published by Bonorato Creative Group. LLC; all rights reserved)