More Success Secrets of America's Best Agripreneurs
Nov 01, 2011
From Legacy Moment (10/28/2011).
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Part II of II:
Last week, we learned the first five secrets of entrepreneurial success from American farmers. Today, we reveal five more:
6. Manage your team, grow leadership capabilities and nurture other opportunities. Leadership is an aptitude, not a position. It’s the ability to manage a team, help others become leaders and grow new opportunities. A leadership development plan should include education, experience and mentor/protégé relationships.
7. Develop strategic relationships to support the operation, improve results and grow. Strategic alliance relationships offer advantages beyond those of a general practitioner, such as cost efficiencies and specialization, including skills, abilities, knowledge, capabilities, etc. Strategic alliance relationships offer the luxury of a specialist for the cost of a part-time employee.
8. Manage finances, marketing and business matters for continual improvement. Failure is the tuition we pay for wisdom. A good business manager is constantly working to improve the results of the operation. Efficiencies allow us to do more with less. Each business operation must be in a constant state of renewal and refinement.
9. Harvest crops, market appropriately and reinvest in the operation. The decisions you make and the actions you take will determine your success. Growing a business is an avocation that requires a sincere interest in business systems, economics, accounting, people, management, marketing, customer service, innovation, etc.
10. Account for results, compare expectations and refine plans for next season. Lasting security is not something you get; it’s something you give. Entrepreneurs embrace life-affirming experiences. They use risk, challenge and fear of the unfamiliar to generate rewards, satisfaction, confidence and capabilities.
News & Resources for You:
Are you and your landlords working together for the welfare of the operation? Learn how to strengthen those relationships.
As you refine plans for next season, have you defined your succession intentions? The Legacy Project can help you get started.
The annual Legacy Project Report issue of Farm Journal is a helpful resource, and all content is available on our website.
