Embracing boundaries allows all family members to grow at work, and at home. Written for Farm Futures and originally published 3/14/23. Have you ever heard that Good Fences make good neighbors? It's true even within family farms. How many hours can you expect from yourself? How much time does it take to complete all the work and still have time for some of the kids' events? Even if you want to work 90 hours a week, do the next generation and your employees find this an enticing lifestyle? As a farm owner, there is never true balance because, ultimately, what...
Category: Uncategorized
Uncategorized
Do most important work first
You likely have a to-do list, but what about a stop-doing list? Written for Farm Futures and originally published March/April 2023. The farm to-do list never ends and often seems like it has a life of its own. It continues to grow even as items are checked off. Many farmers are almost overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work that needs to be done. What is the answer? As farms become larger and more complex, we recommend professionalization wherever possible. In this case, prioritization and time management. Time management and prioritization aren't about doing more work. It's about doing...
Uncategorized
How well-maintained is your business?
Time spent honing your leadership, communication, and management skills is seldom wasted. There are plenty of resources and coaches that can help your progress. Written for Dairyherd.com and originally published 3/3/2023. We all need to find and keep great people for our farms. This is truer than ever before. Maybe you have heard the phrases, "we need the right people on the bus" and "they need to be in the right seats." This sounds reasonable. It's not a secret that farms have a competitive advantage when they consistently find and keep good employees. Part of keeping an employee is...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning, Uncategorized
How to build a stronger business-first farm family
Keeping and building family connections across generations is the single most effective way to reduce conflict. Written for Farm Futures and originally published 2/23/23 The ties that bind us together can get frayed over time. How connections are strengthened makes all the difference. Surviving and thriving in any business is hard. Difficult decisions are often made, and there is bound to be conflict in a multi-generational farm enterprise. How a family farm navigates conflict is a large factor in its success. Here is some good news: The family enterprise, or farm, has many strengths that not all businesses possess....
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Soft Skills for Owners
The needed skill in a tight labor market Written for Progressive Dairy. Originally published Jan 2023. How often have you seen a highly skilled manager fail in leading their team? Some signs are high turnover, lax standards, and low morale. How often have you seen employees or owners in charge of managing people struggle to connect with employees and keeping everyone aligned with the goals? How often have employees been promoted because they have the technical know-how and work hard, but no one wants to work with them? Great leaders are goal orientated but realize they need to build a...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning, Uncategorized
Strategic Planning isn’t just for Fortune 500 companies
Your farm will regenerate and reinvent itself to thrive in a changing world. Building commitment and alignment between the family and the business is key to a lasting legacy. Written for MILK and originally published in the Nov/Dec 2022 issue. Farms, and dairy farms, in particular, require constant reinvestment. But reinvestment goes far beyond just dollars and cents. It also requires personal and emotional reinvestment for each generation. Without both financial and emotional reinvestment, the farm will eventually cease. Firms have used strategic planning in one form or another for decades. In years past, when farms were smaller and less...
Business Growth Strategy, Uncategorized
Why Farm Leadership Matters
Farmers who choose to lead have an advantage over those who just manage. Originally published at Farm Futures in their November/December 2022 issue. Old employee management and leadership techniques can be a bottleneck to farm growth and profitability. There comes a time on most farms when the founders cannot do all the work. They need the help of family and/or employees. It's at that point the farmer must follow the principles of leadership over management. Have you ever been frustrated with your employees, a family member, or even yourself? We all have. Do you sometimes feel the "people" side of...
Uncategorized
Farm Crisis: What do we do now?
How to manage first 30 days after an accidental farm death. Originally published at Farm Futures in their October 2022 issue. Farming is a dangerous profession, and the chance of severe injury or death is real. Most of us have at least heard of the work-related or farm-related death of someone we know. Sometimes, these are children, but often, these deaths are of owners or key decision-makers. Unfortunately, several of our clients have been through farm-related deaths, which is never easy. Farms have contingency plans for chemical spills, manure spills, and other events mandated by law. However, contingency plans...
Succession Planning, Uncategorized
Gain Traction on Farm Transition
Originally published at Farm Futures on 9/28/22. While many farmers are unsure, maybe nervous, about the transition planning process. Not starting the process often makes things worse for everyone. However, getting started is often the hardest part. We'll explore how you can get transition traction, so your farm legacy stands tall. Most of us have pulled out some equipment that was stuck in the mud. Getting unstuck usually involves a plan of how to get unstuck, some basic equipment suitable for the job, and getting the ropes hooked up. But at every step, it takes communication, coordination, and...
Business Growth Strategy, Succession Planning, Uncategorized
Moving from Commander to Coach
The most powerful move you'll make is moving from the commander to the coach. Written for MILK Magazine and originally published in the July/Aug 2022 issue. It's fairly common for farmers never to retire. So common, in fact, that we seldom hear the phrase uttered when going through a transition plan. Yet deep down, we all know that no dairyman takes their cows into the grave. Here is a typical example. For decades the senior generation was in full command and maybe are still the majority owners. It's their name on the checks and their name on the barn. Yet...