Craft a plan to up your farm’s strategic direction
Between exploding input prices, a smaller labor force and volatile markets, 2022 could be a challenging year for your farm.
“Planning your strategy for next year must be a high priority,” says Bob Milligan, senior consultant at Dairy Strategies. “The best decisions are made after discussion, and collaboration among all the key decision-makers, owners and key employees. Without regular structured meetings, the required level of discussion and debate is unlikely.”
While structured meetings are a key in business success, they can be unproductive or just boring. Why? The wrong issues are being mixed into the discussion, which happens when you don’t have the right meetings, says Mark Faust, author and president of Echelon Management. He encourages farmers to develop these meeting patterns with the right team members.
QUARTERLY OFF-SITE MEETINGS
(one or two days)
Consider holding it at a state park, library, vendor office or other economical alternative if cost is an issue.
Use a facilitator. Build or review your farm’s strategy. Consider competitive developments. Include a team-building activity.
MONTHLY STRATEGIC MEETINGS
(two to four hours)
Focus on critical strategic issues affecting the long-term direction and performance of your farm. Limit the agenda to only a few issues.
Encourage healthy deliberation for decisions.
WEEKLY TACTICAL MEETINGS
(30 to 90 minutes)
Review metrics, activities, goals and obstacles.
Follow a set agenda, which includes each person giving a one-minute overview of their top-three projects and issues.
Use red, yellow and green labels to prioritize projects and issues. Table strategic issues for your monthly strategic meetings.
DAILY STANDUP
(five to 15 minutes max)
Everyone is standing.
Can be done remotely.
In the allotted time, each person shares a synopsis of yesterday’s accomplishments, what they will do today and any obstacles.
With Nashville as the backdrop, Top Producer Summit brings together the nation’s top producers for networking, education, entertainment and more. Take time away from the farm to discover business opportunities, gain invaluable insights and increase your competitive advantage.
Register now!
