Whether you are a government agency trying to get work done (efficiently and effectively… DOGE-style) or a private business attempting to engage with a government department, 2025 may be feeling like the year of the sloth.

On virtually every level, it appears that little to nothing is moving forward. And the stuff that is moving is setting low-speed records. “Hurry up and wait” has evolved into simply waiting… and waiting.

Marketing agencies from coast to coast are reporting ghosts at every turn – prospects who simply disappear in mid-conversation and never return. Businesses say it is harder than ever to engage government contractors, and government offices – fed and SLED – are only interested in pricing so low they leave scrape marks on the floor.

Yeah, it’s that kind of year. And it might be that way for a few more years. The answer? To paraphrase Andy Dufresne from Shawshank Redemption, you either get busy working or get busy quitting.

Stay the course. It is easy and sometimes satisfying to get distracted with dreams and schemes, new technologies and old shortcuts. But the hard truth is that sticking to your plan is almost always the best solution. Keep building your brand, keep telling your story, keep pushing for meetings. Yes, you are going to get ghosted from time to time, and you are going to get the door slammed in your face because your budgets are too high. Stay the course.

Every morning and every afternoon I review the new contracts approved by the DoD and various other agencies… tens of billions of dollars every day. Stay the course. Whether you are a government agency feeling the squeeze or a private business feeling the cold air, stay the course.

This is not to say you ignore new tech solutions or show a preference for rigidity over agility, but you have a plan (I assume) that is based on research and strategy. Don’t give up on it just because the going got tough.