I am confident most salespeople do not look forward to sales forecasting time of year, or at least this one doesn’t.  When looking back at 2020 this process was even more confusing.  Between my staff and I we talked with over 100 customers, asking what they expected for 2021.   By far the most common answer was “I don’t Know”.  I’m sure you can imagine how incredibly helpful this is when doing sales forecasting or even life plans for that matter.

The fear of the unknown has caused more grief and stress then anything I can think of.  So where does that leave us personally and professionally, I don’t know either.  I do know that every day we have a choice about many things. Unfortunately, there are many circumstances beyond our control as well.

1. Covid: it seems every family has been affected in one way or another. Which also means every business has been affected, after all it is people that make our business’ work. This outbreak has changed the way business is being done.  Is this for the long term or the short term “I don’t know”?
2. Presidential Election:      Our country could not be more divided.  Whether you are elated or horrified by the election.  This election cycle is over.  What happens next “I don’t know”.
3. Government imposed shutdowns:  not much else to say, will they or won’t they continue except “I don’t know”.
4. What else will change in 2021, “I don’t know”?

What choices can we make?

I do know all of us at S&D will choose this day.

1. To get up every day and go to work with the most positive attitude we can muster.
2. To look for the good in situations and people.  Because what you look for you will find.
3. To accept not every day is a good day but take it with humility and resolve to not let a single setback defeat us.
4. To realize we are not defined by our job but by our character.  Treating each other, our customers and our suppliers with respect, honesty and fairness.

In other words, each of us has the opportunity to “Choose This Day”, for many of us this simple phrase has a deeper meaning, ask me about it sometime.  None the less, all of us make decision every day that affect how we go about our day, how we interact with those we agree with and most importantly those we don’t.

What does all this have to do with 2021? Clearly the easy answer is “I don’t know”, because nobody really knows what tomorrow brings.  However, I believe the American spirit is still alive and well living strongly in the manufacturing industry we serve.  For those that don’t work in an industry that actually creates and builds products you may not understand.  We have helped to build planes flying around the world, the Mars rover still actually sitting on another planet, think about that for just a moment.  What we can accomplish together.  We see rockets launched almost weekly now from parts we helped manufacture and yes small things like the braces on your kid’s teeth or the plastic handle on the razor you used this morning.   When we are told it can’t be done, we laugh and prove it can.  Manufacturing will survive because of the people in it, not by those outsiders saying that will never work.

I encourage you to stand together with us and “Choose This Day.”   When we do we will more than just survive we will thrive.

Sincerely

Jim Herman

CEO