What will 2012 do for you?

What will 2012 bring to government contractors? That’s the question driving a lot of discussions in the market today.

This could be the last good year before more serious budget cuts come in 2013 and 2014, as many are expecting.

Or it could the first really bad year because so many contracts and purchasing decisions are being delayed and uncertainty pervades everything.

The reality likely will be somewhere in between and a lot will probably depend on what your company does and who its customers are.

When we talked to executives and industry experts for the stories in this issue, the prevailing sentiment was that success during the next 12 to 24 months will come to companies with trusted customer relationships and an ability to help those customers do more with less.

The companies that succeed will be the ones that look at the coming budget constraints as an opportunity and not as a period to just hunker down and survive.

In many ways, the current environment is an opportunity for contractors to step up and bring the innovation and imagination they’ve long boasted of in their marketing materials. Now is the time to show that contractors are part of the solution, not the problem.

For sure, some customers will be more open to new ideas than others. Some will look to the quickest cuts to get through the next few years. Frankly, those may be the customers to keep at arms length.

But there will be other customers who will embrace new ideas and new ways of operating. They will be open to creative procurement techniques. Those are the customers to rush to.

Now is the time to be bold; bring your A game; stick to your knitting. Pick your cliché. Just be ready to work.