The $100 MBA Show

Episode: MBA2710 – How To Plan For Success In 2026
Host: Omar Zenhom
Date: December 1, 2025

Episode Overview

In this actionable episode, host Omar Zenhom shares his proven five-step framework for planning a fulfilling and successful year—specifically, how to design your 2026 with intentionality. Drawing on more than twenty years of entrepreneurship and the annual strategic planning ritual he shares with his partner Nicole, Omar delivers a detailed system for setting meaningful goals across life and business, reverse engineering your year, and focusing on what truly matters by letting go of the rest. The episode is rich with real-world examples and motivating insights for business owners and high-achievers alike.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Importance of Planning

• If you fail to plan, you plan to fail: The central tenet is clear—deliberate annual planning is the antidote to reactive, unfulfilling years. Without a plan, “the whims of everybody else plan your year” (01:16).

• Design, don’t drift: Treating the new year as a surprise party isn’t a strategy. “Hope isn’t a strategy, right? It’s just not a strategy. If you don’t plan your year, you will spend it reacting to everyone else” (15:11).

The 5-Step Framework for Yearly Strategic Planning

1. Get Off the Grid

(02:40)

• Leave your routine environment. Omar and Nicole take an annual day offsite—hotel or resort—to physically and mentally shift perspectives.
• Why? “You can’t design a new life, an improved life in the same space that you live in, the same space that you’re used to. Getting into a new environment gets you in a new headspace, allows you to think more creatively, and it allows you to think bigger” (03:30).

2. Come Prepared

(04:45)

• Bring your ideas and notes, already considered in advance.
• They hold a “recap” of the current year (what worked, what didn’t, both personally and professionally). Then, they each prepare proposals for the next year to ensure a productive and focused discussion.
• Collaboration: “We have two perspectives, two ideas, two visions. And we want to make it a shared vision” (06:18).

3. Start with the Big Picture

(07:05)

• Map out categories: Business, health, relationships, travel, fun, fulfillment.
• Begin with feelings and end goals: “What do we want to feel by the end of 2026? ... What do we want to say to ourselves, ‘This year was great because…’?” (07:24)
• In each category, articulate not just what you want to achieve but how you want to feel—e.g., “I want to put on 5kg of muscle,” or “I want to go deeper with the relationships I already have” (09:00).

4. Reverse Engineer the Year

(12:20)

• Plug goals into your calendar with concrete actions.
• For every goal, translate it into launches, events, trips, rest periods, milestones, and deadlines. Create what Omar calls a “preloaded year.”
• Proactive scheduling: “By the end of our strategic plan day, all of 2026, the whole calendar ... is completed. It’s filled out. ... There’s some flexibility ... but generally our calendar is booked because it’s booked with the things we want to get done” (13:44).
• Actionable tip: After planning, immediately take steps to book or buy what’s required (e.g., conference tickets, hotels) to ensure follow-through (14:34).

5. Cut What Doesn’t Fit

(15:25)

• The hardest step: Honestly review your commitments and subtract tasks to create room for new goals.
• Success through subtraction: “Success, in my opinion, is about subtraction. It's saying no to the good so that you can say yes to the great” (16:01).
• Sometimes, this means stopping things you enjoy in order to prioritize what matters most for the new year.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On designing your life:
  “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your calendar.”
  (17:57) – Omar Zenhom

• On making room for what matters:
  “It’s easy to say no to things you don’t want to do ... The tough part is saying no to the things you actually enjoy, things that you actually like to do. ... The reason why you have to say no to them is so that you can make room for the things you have to do to achieve the new things you want to achieve, to expand your life”
  (16:22) – Omar Zenhom

• On the payoff of planning:
  “That single day that we committed to changed everything for us ... So don’t tell yourself, I don’t have time for this. ... Spend one day. It’s not going to kill your business if you just spend one day to do this so that your whole year—365 days—are beneficial, are going to lead you to where you want to go.”
  (16:54) – Omar Zenhom

• On intentionality over reactivity:
  “Most people treat the new year like it’s a surprise party, right? They show up in January and hope that everything is going to magically work out. But hope isn’t a strategy, right?”
  (15:09) – Omar Zenhom

• Final encouragement:
  “One day of planning gives you 365 days of clarity. So make it count.”
  (19:09) – Omar Zenhom

Action Steps for Listeners

1. Set aside a full day to plan before year-end and go offsite if possible (18:13).
2. Ask yourself and your team/partner three questions:
   • What do I want to accomplish next year?
   • What do I need to do to make that happen (actions and milestones)?
   • What do I need to cut out to make room for it?
3. Walk away with a calendar filled with actions and milestones that reflect your true priorities.

Episode Timestamps

• [00:56] – Why planning your year is critical (“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail…”)
• [02:40] – Step 1: Get off the grid
• [04:45] – Step 2: Come prepared (with a year-end recap and new ideas)
• [07:05] – Step 3: Start with the big picture and core categories
• [12:20] – Step 4: Reverse engineering the year and creating a preloaded calendar
• [15:25] – Step 5: Cut what doesn’t fit; success through subtraction
• [16:54] – Personal anecdote on how annual planning transformed Omar’s business and life
• [17:57] – “You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your calendar.”
• [18:13] – Specific action steps and questions to ask yourself in your own strategic planning
• [19:09] – “One day of planning gives you 365 days of clarity.”

Overall Tone & Takeaway

Omar’s tone is direct, motivating and approachable—making strategic planning feel both essential and very doable. His annual ritual with Nicole is presented not just as a business tactic, but as a holistic life design tool. The message is clear: Taking one dedicated day to intentionally design your business and life can provide clarity, control, and a sense of purpose all year long.

“You can’t predict the future, but you can plan it out so that it can be as aligned as possible to what you want.” (19:06)

Recommended: Listen through [02:40]-[19:09] for the full five-step framework and actionable guidance.