Have you ever driven in the fog? How fast did you go? How did you feel? Now, think of how that differs from how you drive and feel on a clear day.
I am guessing you drive more assured and feel less tense when you can see where you are going. The same is true for budgeting. If you clear away the fog, you and your team can more likely achieve your goals and feel more comfortable because you have a clearer picture of the future.
While you can’t control everything that will affect your revenue in 2017, you can significantly increase your odds for success. The road most traveled involves running your organization on a day-to-day basis and reacting to opportunities and problems as they arise. If you choose this path, your financial statements likely will reflect your history of random decision-making.
The road less traveled requires desire, discipline, and perseverance. It requires that you spend the time and energy to envision and record the future you want, the dollars that future will bring, and the cost of making that future happen.
Discipline is the bridge between what you have and what you want. For budgeting purposes, discipline means “a set of financial rules that when followed lead to a predetermined end.” For you, that predetermined end is the future you have envisioned for your organization.
Success will be determined by how well you allocate scarce and precious resources for their highest and best use in making your mission happen. Budgets can serve as guardrails to prevent your organization from falling off the path to success.
If you haven’t created your budget for 2017, set aside some time now to clarify where you want to go next year and the costs involved in getting there.