You’re only ever in three stages of life:
- As good as you think you are
- Better than you think you are
- Worse than you think you are
Most of the time it’s No. 3. “But, Shay, my feelings!” Settle down, this isn’t to make you feel bad about yourself. It’s to reflect on how you’re treating yourself.
Step 1
The first step is expectations and goal management. Your perception of how well you are doing is probably dictated by the ability to achieve your expectations. Do your expectations only live in your head? Then you need to write them down. People who write down their goals are 80% more likely to achieve them. Then you need to evaluate, are these realistic expectations?
Step 2
The second step is prioritizing. You can only improve what you measure, and you shouldn’t measure what you aren’t willing to manage. Whether it is time management, work-life balance, profitability projections, marketing plans or yield goals, if you don’t measure how you’re doing, how will you ever improve? On the other hand, why are you worried about the markets if you aren’t going to forward market? Does stressing about the price of fuel matter if you’re going to keep the grain cart tractor idling all day at $175 per engine hour anyway? Prioritize what matters and measure it diligently.
Step 3
The third step is being honest with yourself. It’s important to look at each aspect of your business and rate yourself. You can come up with your own metrics, but it might look something like this.
- Are my financial reporting mechanisms in order: cash flow, balance sheet, accounting system, tax preparation, etc.?
- How would my team rate my leadership and engagement over the past 90 days?
- Am I communicating effectively to landowners, team members and stakeholders?
- Are opportunities being fairly assessed for economic progress and determination of alignment with our business?
- Is my equipment maintenance plan what it should be and am I doing the work in a timely manner?
- Am I taking care of my personal health and family obligations, as well as prioritizing the things that really matter to me in life?
Design your own metrics for business success. Honestly, my scores are pretty darn low in a lot of these categories right now, but it is an important metric for me to track and implement changes where I can to steer the ship in the right direction.
Set your expectations appropriately and get them on paper. Prioritize what needs to be done and spend less time doing what you aren’t willing to change. Be honest with yourself and assess how your farm is performing.
As you read this, are you as good as you think you are, better than you think you are, or worse than you think you are?
