BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN WITH YOUR TEAMS TO BEGIN THE 2015 BUDGETING PROCESS, MAKE SURE BOTH YOU AND THEY ARE PROGRAMMED FOR SUCCESS.

It’s hard to believe we are entering the 4th quarter of 2014 and with it comes the 2015 planning and budgeting process. What will 2015 bring? Will it be a profitable year? Will the economy continue to improve? What will happen to interest rates? Will we get a long-term sustainable revenue solution for the Highway Trust Fund? What can we do to continue to grow our businesses and our industry? I am certain I am not the only one who has these questions racing around.

Before you begin the task of answering these or other mission critical questions, I recommend taking an inventory of what you have been inputting into your subconscious and that of your team. We are sponges and mirrors. To a large degree, we absorb and then reflect the input of our surroundings. If we leave our programming to chance we risk absorbing and reflecting a limited, negative, or destructive perspective.

For those of you who don’t personally know me I have been described as, “always smiling,” “optimistic” and even “a tilt-up cheerleader.” Granted, I do consider myself a naturally optimistic person, but I have bad days, just ask my husband. In order to combat the challenges and negativity in my life, in business and yes, in the world, I take steps to maintain, and even program, my optimism.

Every single step we take, we are programmed to do. Every word we hear from someone, we take and place into our conscious, positive and negative. That input then goes into the subconscious for processing, which in turn creates a reaction, or is stored in our memory for retrieval at a later point.

Before you sit down with your teams to begin the 2015 budgeting process, make sure both you and they are programmed for success. Attending the TCA Convention seminars, awards ceremony and International Reception is a great way to start! We should all take every chance to embed ourselves with positive, uplifting materials such as books, articles, movies, and speakers. I realize that not everyone enjoys motivational books per se, so instead try a good biography that takes you through the life of someone who has overcome obstacles and gone on to do great things. Reading allows us the opportunity to think, digest and ingest at our own speed. The barrage of negativity we receive on a daily basis can at times be crushing and overwhelming.

Growth is expected but in order to be achieved it must be believed. Belief is a universal law. It is an intangible, powerful force that can either elevate or destroy us. As Charles Marshall said, “No man is an island, and there is no such thing as the Lone Ranger. No astronaut ever made it to the moon by himself. No race car driver makes it to the finish line without a crew.” If we are going to expand our horizons, accomplish new things, and explore the potential, we need to surround ourselves with people who will help us get where we are going. We need people that we believe in and in turn who in believe in us, in the business and the industry and are invested in success. Surround yourself with motivational, inspirational, positive material and people and you will become a reflection of those things.

At AH Harris we will begin the 2015 budgeting process in October. But we have already set the tone, believe in growth and build on success. Our teams are constantly looking for the opportunities in the market, developing lead indicators that we can influence, tracking upcoming projects and developing strategic plans for securing the work, as well as looking for new products that can increase productivity or reduce costs and the never ending process of knowing the strengths and weaknesses of our competition.

As Doc says in Back to the Future III, “The future is what you make of it, so make it a good one.”