MOTIVATION
Write Down Your Goals in 2026
Your brain is basically a golden retriever — it means well but gets distracted by literally everything But when you write down your goals, it’s like giving that golden retriever a map. Suddenly it knows where it’s going. Science backs this up (author James Clear, organizational psychologist Richard Rohr, other smart people). Keep your goals vague enough to start but specific enough that you can’t just keep “thinking about it.” You’re not trying to become a grinding robot. You’re trying to grow like a normal human. When creating your 2026 goals, write the big stuff down. Five minutes. One page. Done.
SALES
Ban the Word “Help”
Here’s a thing humans do that makes zero sense: we walk into stores with money, ready to buy stuff, and then someone says “Can I help you?” and our brain immediately goes into panic mode like “ABORT MISSION, THEY KNOW I’M HERE.” Sarah Cantu at Gabriel & Co. figured out why — the word “help” makes you sound needy and incompetent. Her fix: “Is this your first time visiting us?” Way less threatening. More like “hey, welcome to the club” than “you look lost, do you need assistance.”
Advertisement
PLANNING
January Sets the Year
You know how every January you’re like “THIS is gonna be the year!” and then by February you’ve accomplished nothing? That’s because resolutions without systems are just wishes in fancy clothes. David Brown, profit specialist, offers four questions: Start? Stop? More? Less? Apply them to seven areas: staff, inventory, cash flow, sales, vendors, customers, systems. Twenty-eight decisions. Get each one onto a calendar with a deadline for implementation. That’s it — that’s your plan for 2026 right there.
MARKETING
Screenshot Your Haters
Bad reviews can be marketing gold. Marissa Speer at Richter Jewelry Co. frames brutal one-star reviews and hangs them in the bathroom. “Putting them on display shows we can laugh at ourselves,” says Speer, operations manager. “Customers love it. They take photos and share them.” Her favorite: “Terrible service, would give zero stars if possible.” It’s hanging next to the soap dispenser. Vulnerability beats vanity. Turn your haters into content.
COMMUNICATION
Tell Stories, Not Lectures
You know what’s never worked in the history of management? Nagging. Kerry Patterson, coauthor of Influencer, says people don’t change because you lecture them — they change because a story shows them what actually matters. Tell them about the repair that got screwed up and ruined someone’s wedding day. Share the story about the client who left a glowing review. Stories stick because they’re real. Lectures just make people tune you out while nodding politely.
Advertisement
SALES
Even a Bad Joke Can Lift Your Close Rate
Stanford’s Naomi Bagdonas found customers will pay nearly 20% more if you drop a playful line at the end. “The bar is so low,” she laughs. Try it: quote the price, then grin and say, “And I’ll throw in my pet frog.” If they laugh, they buy.
TIME MANAGEMENT
Wait Before You Commit
Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman refuses to say yes immediately to requests, invitations, or commitments. His line: “Thanks for the invite. I don’t say yes on the spot, but I’ll let you know.” Which is polite but firm. Derek Sivers takes it further: if it’s not “Hell yeah!” it’s automatically no. Start doing this and future-you will be less stressed, less overbooked, and significantly less cranky about commitments past-you made.
LEADERSHIP
Lead From the Front
Culture is set at the top. Tom Peters, business author, advises: “Give a lot, expect a lot, and if you don’t get it, prune.” It sounds blunt, but it’s about clarity — establish standards, communicate them, and support your team so they can deliver. Or, as Gandhi put it more elegantly: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”
