What steps are you taking to stay competitive and resilient in the face of domestic and global challenges?
I remember a quote of past All Blacks coach Sir Graeme Henry who once said that “you use three times more energy on defence than you do on attack”!
This has stuck in my head, and I have often bought this up at staff meetings if I feel we have been on the defence i.e. behind on our plan, not achieving what we would like to and feeling like we are treading water. When we are kicking goals and on top of our game everything seems so easy.
In my recent Nuffield report on ‘How do farmers embrace imposed change’, I referred to Coveys diagram, Circle of influence vs Circle of Concern. I think we, as farmers, have a tendency to worry about much more than we control (concern). Where if we really concentrate and spend our energy on what we can control (influence), we will find that our resilience both in business and personal lives will be stronger.
Tools that I, to the most part strive to enact.
Business:
- Re-evaluate policies and cut any fat or inefficiencies.
- Plan, budget, revise, evaluate, and keep key stake holders up to date - rinse and repeat! If we followed this better in the good times our businesses would be even stronger!
- Be honest with staff, they are also stake holders. Let them understand why there are no big presents in Santa’s sack this year.
- Don’t make drastic changes as this can increase risk and put pressure on cash flows. Keep them for the good times.
- Farm not for production/vanity but for profit/reality.
- Most of all keep it fun!
Personal:
- Look after yourself, you are number 1. (I hear my wife saying; do as I say not as I do!)
- Keep work at work even if it means getting off the farm often. There may not be trips to Rarotonga but enjoy your back door.
- Alcohol is a good servant but terrible boss.
- Be grateful for what you have, There is a lot! Our troubles are minimal compared with most. Legislation in Europe, 100% plus inflation in Argentina, and by world standards we live in a free and democratic political system.
- Most of all keep it fun!
