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Sustainability – What is It?

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Are you sick of buzzwords? They’re everywhere…all the time. Some are actually impactful, but all are meaningless without context.

One buzzword that actually has some meat is “sustainability,” but in the next breath it’s meaningless because it can be over-used, misinterpreted, or put into the wrong context. Often times the word is attached to “environmental” sustainability and conjures up visions of environmental enthusiasts/activists/evangelists, but the term sustainability is simply defined as being able to last or continue for a long time.
Ref. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sustainable

Using that frame of reference, let’s focus on the financial aspect.

You have put many changes in place in your business over the years. Ranging from new/improved processes to increased size & scale, each change has had an impact on your business. No question, your intention has always been to implement a change for the betterment of your business. But prior to initiating any action, was an assessment of the sustainability of the proposed change ever done? How did you quantify the impact of the change?

There are many success stories floating around lately about producers who gave up some rented land and increased their overall business profits from doing so. While this is counterintuitive to the deeply embedded mindset that “bigger is better,” clearly the financial sustainability of the status quo was in question for these particular operations.

What is the financial sustainability of increasing the size of the factory (more land), adding capacity (more/bigger/newer equipment), or increasing labor (more people)? Each of these needs to be evaluated beyond the obvious cash costs. What are the incidental costs, meaning:

  • Increasing the size of the factory (More Land) carries
    • Higher ownership/operating costs for PP&E (property, plant, & equipment);
    • More cash to service debt on the asset;
    • Change in insurance costs (which way will premiums go, up or down?)
    • Change in utilities costs (which way will heat and power go, up or down?)
    • More working capital to be able to utilize the increased scale of the business;
    • Etc.
  • Adding Capacity (More/Bigger/Newer Equipment) carries
    • Higher costs for PP&E (property, plant, & equipment);
    • More cash to service debt on the asset;
    • Change in insurance costs (which way will premiums go, up or down?)
    • Change in operating costs (which way will fuel and repairs go, up or down?)
    • Will you need to add staff (another operator)?
    • Will you need to upgrade your systems and/or technology so the new equipment can operate relatively seamlessly in your existing set-up?
  • Increasing Labor (More People) carries
    • Additional cost for benefits (pension, vacation, etc.)
    • Higher management requirement (to approve holidays, implement performance evaluations, conduct scheduling);
    • Any additional tools for employees to use (hand tools, vehicles, computers, etc.)
    • Training costs.

Each of these points above has an impact on the decision to increase the size of the factory, the capacity of the equipment, or the volume of human capital in your business. Evaluating each decision above with a broader perspective, which would include an expected ROI (Return on Investment), is the best way to understand the sustainability of each option. If the desired change to your business provides insufficient ROI, it puts the sustainability of not only the project but your entire business in question. At minimum, ROI must exceed the cost of borrowed capital that was utilized for the project.

Plan for Prosperity

Buzzwords aside, sustainability is as much of a mindset as it is a business practice. Sustainability deserves a place in your business’ values and mission & vision statements. It should make up a component of every business decision that you consider. If your business is not sustainable, what are your plans for afterwards?

Reflection

Reflection

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We are now bombarded with headlines, columns, and blurbs about how this is the time to pause and look back over the last year. What went well? What didn’t? Blah, blah, blah…

If you’re not doing this throughout the year, not just now in late December, I have to ask, “Why the hell not?” Do you think a hockey team plays the entire game without checking the scoreboard and the clock regularly? They would be quite surprised to have the final buzzer go off only to find they were losing the game and didn’t make any adjustments that could have led to a win…

No, this column is not like the others that suggest you look back and give thanks. That is, however, good advice and a wonderful practice to follow.

This column suggests that you look for your reflection. It can be seen in places we don’t always look until much time has past, which often leads to difficulty making sufficient adjustments (Ref. the hockey team described above.) Here are a few places where you’ll see your reflection, if you look…

Your Children

As a young man, I was told regularly that I was very much like my dad, right down to the way I walked and talked. I took that as a compliment because I really looked up to my dad. As I matured as a man, I began to see some of his shortcomings and decided I didn’t want to be a mirror of him but a better version instead. I try to emulate his virtues and learn from his faults so that I can be the best dad I can for my two young daughters.

I see strong reflections of myself in my children, especially my oldest. She has perfectionist tendencies, wants to do right by everyone, and is incredibly well spoken for her age. All are qualities I’ve been told would aptly describe me as a toddler. Those might be her worst qualities because on the other end of the spectrum, she has the most beautiful soul: caring, generous, forgiving…I could go on and on. I’ve learned that perfection kills progress and am working on improving my perfectionist tendencies every day. Now I need to learn how to teach her what I’ve learned in this regard.

Your Business

As a solo-preneur, (that’s the phrase I’ve coined to describe me and everyone else who is a solo entrepreneur) I am my business; I am everything in it and for it, from creating and executing the marketing plan to opening the mail. If I’m not working my business, my business is idling in neutral.

In businesses with a team, be that team a family or arm’s-length employees, the team will be an indirect reflection of you as the leader. A motivated and conscientious team is a reflection of an appreciative and fair leader. An apathetic and truant team is a reflection of a harsh and impatient leader.

However, it matters not whether our business is a team or a solo, the drive towards success that is seen in our businesses is a direct reflection of us, the leaders. Our level of engagement in the moving towards our big picture, long term goals will correlate almost perfectly to the results we achieve. My engagement in my business has been challenged in the last half of 2017 as I dealt with a difficult personal issue, and the results show it.

Your Circle

People tend to gravitate to other people of their ilk. It’s natural. Is your circle of friends & contacts positive and optimistic, or negative and pessimistic? By surrounding ourselves with other just like us, we risk getting caught up in an echo chamber where our perspective is never challenged and will never change.

To Plan for Prosperity

Reflection is more apparent than we might think. Yet it is often difficult to recognize. And despite all this, typically the best tool to settle the challenges in business is a mirror.

 

**Credit Where Credit is Due
Last week we shared again that “Cash Isn’t King, It’s the ACE!” This was first heard from Phil Symchych of Symco & Co. management advisors symcoandco.com  and we didn’t provide proper citation or acknowledgement. For this, we apologize. Phil has been a great friend & advisor and we look forward to continued success.

 

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Goal Congruence

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Have you been beat up enough yet about “defining your goals”? Every article I read relating to business management and every presentation I attend relating to business management always brings up the need for you as the businessperson to “define your goals.” For the record, “business management” in the context of this piece also include business transition (succession) planning.

The beatings will continue. They’ll continue as until everyone doesn’t just listen to the advice, but acts on it.

More often than not, when I ask a client (or even a prospective client) what are their goals, I get a blank stare, as if the concept is a foreign language. Far too many business owners have given little consideration to what they are trying to achieve in the business.

If it’s just a place to work and/or a lifestyle to enjoy, then declare it as your goal.
If it’s a family legacy that has been left to you that you intend to leave to your children, then declare it as your goal.
If it’s to achieve the largest scale in your market area, then declare it as your goal.
If it’s to create financial wealth and prosperity for you and your family, then declare it as your goal.

Don’t just tell the advisor you’ve hired, and paid well, that your goal is “to make more money.” That’s everyone’s goal, whether employed for someone else or self-employed like you. Let’s get serious.

There are four sample goals described above. These four have been chosen because they are the most common goals I have identified in working with entrepreneurs for the last 15 years. What I mean by “identified” is that while some of these goals have been declared, it’s more common that the goal is insinuated by (or surmised from) the behavior of the owners. The problem is when business owners try to combine more than one of those four sample goals listed above; this happens almost all the time.

The first goal listed, lifestyle, is not congruent with any of the other three.
We’ve learned that largest scale does not automatically equate to increased financial wealth and prosperity; again, not necessarily congruent.
The only congruity among the four samples is between family legacy and financial prosperity.
– yet behaviors often do not follow those goals.

It is advisable to have multiple goals in business and in life. In business, none of the goals we may have can be achieved without prudence in financial management. Remember, profit feeds your business, it feeds your family, and it feeds your ability to spend time with your family & on other things you enjoy. If you feel uncomfortable declaring one of your business goals to be financial wealth because you don’t want to be thought of as a greedy person, then don’t declare it, but for the sake of your business’ and your family’s future, behave like it. If you’re not profitable, if you’re suffering under the pressure of non-existent working capital, or worse, then none of your goals are achievable. Period. Hard stop. I’m sorry to have to deliver that cold truth in such a harsh manner.

To Plan for Prosperity

The challenge I lay out for all entrepreneurs is this: be clear on why you do what you do, establish working parameters and behaviors that support it, and evaluate your progress & results regularly to ensure you’re still on track. How sad would it be to never check the map for the entire journey only to end up somewhere you never meant to be?

Not only must your goals be congruent, but your behaviors must be as well. You and your business face enough turmoil, challenges, and risks. Don’t create more challenges by making decisions that aren’t congruent with your goals.

Changing Paths

Changing Paths

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Two summers ago, 5 friends gathered to undertake a 2-day back country mountain hike. All the plans were finalized well ahead of time. Everyone invested in proper gear for such an adventure: backpack, drinking water storage, hiking boots, etc. The weather was perfect. The gear lived up to its expectations. No one got hurt. The entire excursion truly was a success.

The best intentions ahead of such a trip were evident, yet preparations had to be made for unpredictable scenarios such as encountering a bear, inclement weather, or getting lost. There is no cell service in the back country…

In this case, everyone was prepared for challenges along the way.

Contrast the story above with a trip into the city, or even a longer trip to location out of province. If it’s a day trip or a short run, as long as there is enough fuel in the vehicle, all you might grab is a jacket on your way out the door. Longer journeys might lead you to give the vehicle a servicing beforehand, fuel it up, and load it with some luggage and possibly snacks for the drive. You know what route you’ll take and you know how long it takes to get there. Off you go…

Along the way,

  • you find your primary gravel road is getting a culvert replaced (forcing a 5 mile detour);
  • you drive through an unmarked rough patch on the highway that causes your coffee to spill on your lap;
  • you come up to a minor collision where the emergency vehicles (tow trucks, police) have slowed traffic which is now backed up one-eighth of a mile;
  • The total drive time of 1 hour (or 2 hours, or 7 hours) other than the 3 points above were “ideal driving conditions” with smooth roads, light traffic, and a tail wind.
  • You arrive at your destination 20 minutes later than planned but safe and sound.

We might describe this story as a terrible excursion where nothing went right. Yet, we did arrive safely, without injury (or worse.)

In the first story, about the mountain hike, the friends were later discussing doing another such trek in the future. It is good for the soul, after all. In that discussion, comments were made about not needing to “over-pack” next time (because the first trip had no significant challenges likes bears or snow.)

In the second story, unforeseen obstacles hindered progress and challenged our perspective of what a successful trip really is.

To Plan for Prosperity

The journeys above are a metaphor for your business.

When tackling something new, it is common to over-prepare. Then if the venture is successful, it is easy to shuck all the preparedness that wasn’t needed the first time around which could put you and your business at significant risk. What in your business is equivalent to running into a bear on a back country mountain path?

Conversely, when setting out on a familiar trek, any glitch (no matter how small) can cause us to get upset, even angry, and wonder “why is this happening to me?” We fail to recognize that we didn’t plan for any contingencies, and left ourselves at risk. What in your business is equivalent to a 5 mile detour, or hot coffee spilling in your lap?

How do you respond when revenue falls short of expectations, or when a key employee resigns? In business, and in life, we have to be willing and able to change paths, sometimes by choice while other times we are forced.

Our ability to adjust is critical to our success.

 

FOUR HANDS MALE AND FEMALE TOAST WITH MUGS OF BEER

Milestones

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This is the 150th consecutive Tuesday that I have written and shared this weekly Op-Ed piece. Thank you for reading it each week. I am humbled by the number of subscriptions you have provided.

Truth be told, I almost blew right by this milestone. There is another piece I had written that was ready to be sent. It was only when preparing to load it into the emailing program I use that number 150 came to light. This gives a good opportunity to pause and reflect.

In January 2015, I was starting from square zero by going fully independent in my business advisory practice. I left behind all of the clients and prospects I had at the time to start with a clean slate and a clear conscience.

Here’s some of what I’ve learned over the last 150 weeks.

  1. Right when you think you know something, someone comes along and blows that “knowledge” right out of the water. Hence, one of the mantras I live by: Learn, Unlearn, Relearn.
  2. Success is not defined by how big your investment portfolio is, or how large your business is. As Alan Weiss says, “There Is Always A Bigger Boat™ – stop living by other people’s standards!”
  3. The greatest limiting factor in our businesses is usually ourselves. Our businesses are limited by our vision, our fears, our aversion to the right risk, or our propensity for the wrong risk. Coincidentally, this also applies to our lives.
  4. Far too many businesses continue to make decisions with inaccurate or insufficient information at best… or with emotion & a hunch at worst.
  5. Going by behavior and attitudes, the shift from farming as a “lifestyle” to farming as a “business” still has a long way to go.

What is your milestone in business? How has your business changed over that time? What is the next milestone you see?

To Plan for Prosperity

The path is never clear, there are always obstacles that will cause you to make adjustments. It is safe to say that someone else’s path may not be best for you since it’s their path, not yours, and you’re not them. Choose your path carefully, but give yourself the freedom to choose another when necessary.

  1. Clarify your definition of success.
  2. Establish specific goals that will lead you to success.
  3. Set out tactics to achieve your goals.
  4. Prepare contingencies.
  5. Execute.

I’ve revisited that simple 5-step plan more than once in the last 150 weeks. I expect I’ll revisit it several times more over the next 150. I utilize my business advisor to help me with that process; I am walking my talk…”Do what you do best, and get help for the rest™!”

Cheers to Success!

 

Adding Value

Adding Value

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To actually add value to your business you must have profit from operations. Every dollar of retained earnings that is left in your business increases the value of your business. Simple concept.

In agriculture, when someone says “adding value” we typically hear “value-added” which means something like processing, milling, refining, etc, etc, etc. Basically we infer that it is anything one or two steps up the value chain that isn’t the actual farming.

At this point, many ears close and minds drift off…

What I’m referring to today is what adds value in your business. It matters not whether your business is production, processing, or any product/service that supports your business, there are aspects where value is insufficient and it is hurting your bottom line.

What Doesn’t Add Value

  • Anything that does not provide an ROI (Return on Investment) above 1:1.
  • Anything that doesn’t provide a measurable and quantifiable improvement to efficiency (which can be translated to ROI.)
  • Anything that uses more cash that it provides.

Examples would be a brand new pickup truck, renting land that (at best) will only break-even, chasing yield to the detriment of gross margin.

What Does Add Value

  • Cash flow and expense management
  • Driving down Unit Cost of Production
  • Empowering your people

Examples would be building and preserving working capital (especially cash), understanding total farm costs relative to production, building a team of competent people who can replace you.

Defining Value

Maybe this is the place to start? How do you define value in your business? What do you see as providing value? For far too many farms, value is centered around land appreciation (a passive boost to equity) and new equipment (a major draw on cash.) Interesting how these two focus points are conflicting in how they affect a business’ financial position…

Does value comes from biggest yield, biggest equipment, biggest acreage base? Or does it come from profit, efficiency, and control?  I might be swimming against the current here, but my vote is the latter…

To Plan for Prosperity

Knowledge is key. Without knowledge, determining value becomes emotional, a guess, or a hunch… To understand value in your business requires an awareness, a level of knowledge, that does not come from gut feel. Your systems for managing the operation and all the financial decisions that go along with it are what will provide the knowledge to help you determine where you are adding value, where you can create value, and where you’re letting value be eroded away…

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It’s Never a Problem Until It’s a Problem

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The first time I heard the phrase “it’s never a problem until it’s a problem” was from Elaine Froese. She is a sought after speaker with farm families on the topics of succession and family dynamics. I recall chuckling at the statement because it is equal parts truth and ambiguity.

Elaine uses this phrase to describe issues among family members, those issues we let smolder without drawing attention to the fire in waiting, those situations that irk us but don’t get discussed because we don’t want to create conflict. The statement applies across the board.

Over my career as a business advisor, commercial lender, and bank branch manager, I’ve seen hundreds and hundreds of financial statements, and one thing is consistent: it’s never a problem until it’s a problem.

Between 2007 and 2013, generally speaking, cash flow was not a problem on western Canadian farms: yields were strong, commodity prices were robust, profits were made. Yet anyone who didn’t consider that those boom times wouldn’t last forever likely didn’t prepare for the effects of the cycle turning downward. Those are the businesses who were most likely to make long term decisions based on short term results. Now there is pressure on cash flow from issues such as excess moisture, or as in the case of 2017, drought. As such, cash flow, which wasn’t a problem in the past is now a problem for many.

“The future will always belong to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious to the typical producer.”

Danny Klinefelter

Danny Klinefelter is the recently retired ag economics professor at Texas A&M University, and the founder of TEPAP. His words, if heeded and practiced, will head off most problems before they become problems!

To Plan for Prosperity

Being a visionary isn’t exclusively tied to seeing the future, it also applies to pragmatically looking at the present. Connecting the dots between the present and an objective (meaning realistic and not overly-optimistic) outlook for the future will help us all identify problems before they become problems. Then comes the hard part: taking action.

CEO Labor

CEO Labor

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When we put autosteer in the tractor, it was my dad who said, “This isn’t farming if you’re not driving the tractor!”

It was a frustrated colleague of mine who said, “When driving tractors is more important than running the business, we’re near the end…”

My friend, Dean Robinson, published a great piece recently on how common it is in family businesses for the owner, the boss, the CEO to “regress” from being the “entrepreneur” back to being the” technician.” While this is common in family business, it seems like an expectation in farming. What I’m getting at is that successfully running a business involves thinking and acting like a CEO, while it is assumed that running a farm means getting dirty and operating equipment with the rest of the guys and gals in the operation. We all say that “farming is a business” but actions don’t appear to support that. Here is Dean’s column in its entirety; put the words in your own context to gauge how they apply to you.

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Dean Robinson photo

EDITION 67 – WEDNESDAY 3RD MAY, 2017
______________________________________________________________
TECHNICIAN – MANAGER – ENTREPRENEUR – PART 2

In last week’s edition of Growth, we talked about the evolution from Technician to Manager to Entrepreneur and how many family business owners are regressing from Entrepreneur back to Technician.

Here’s a reminder of the five adverse effects for your family business of this regression

  1. The client exposes themselves to risk if you are doing too much of the work yourself.
  2. You are not growing if you are not communicating often enough at a higher level.
  3. You put financial pressure on the business every time you hop into the rollercoaster of chasing work, finding too much of it, doing all of it, then running out of work again.
  4. Your bank is exposed to risk if the business is too centred around you and your involvement.
  5. Your team don’t see you as a leader, so might take instructions from you, but not direction and inspiration.

The five reasons I have given you above are motivation enough to have family business owners stop and think about why you are dragging yourself back into the role of the technician. However, it is not the biggest.

The number one reason why you should not do this is that I hear too many family business owners expressing unhappiness as to how their day to day life in business is panning out. They are fed up with the constant phone calls, the poor performing staff, the rushed deadlines, the lack of time to do any form of business planning. Yet, they turn up to their business every day and do the same old thing.

Here’s my message:

Stop it! Stop it right now!

You cannot grow a business that is profitable, valuable and sustainable in the longer term if you, the Entrepreneur, are operating at the Technician level.

If you keep falling back into the Technician’s role, you should seriously stop thinking about growing your business and, instead, lower your expectations as to what you want out of life and how your family business can fund that. You should revert back to being a Man (or Woman) in a Van and have a limited customer base that you focus on.

Now, if lowering your expectations is not on the cards, you need to think about what you need to do to ensure you not only put yourself back in the Entrepreneur’s role, but engage the three point racing harness and stay there.

There is an important element to locking yourself into the role of the Entrepreneur. I am yet to see a family business owner that can do this alone. As a family business owner, you need someone alongside you who:

  1. Challenges you.
  2. Forces you to think differently.
  3. Encourages you when you make progress.
  4. Pulls you back on track when you deviate.
  5. Supports you in your journey.

As the owner of a family business, you have complete control over the direction of your family business. However, because you are at the top of the tree in your organisation, most people don’t question you, the decisions you make or the direction you take. Which is why at times, the direction is forward, at others it is round and round, and at others still, it is backwards.

Having someone from outside your business perform this role creates:

  1. Accountability.
  2. A sense of reporting to a higher authority.
  3. A measure of progress.
  4. A degree of perspective.

Do you have someone in your family business life that is working alongside you so that you stay in the role of the Entrepreneur?

 

This Week’s Tip

“If you as the Entrepreneur, keep regressing back into the Technician role, your life will only get much, much busier as your business grows. More work for the business means more work for you personally. Which means less time for yourself and your family. What’s your choice?”

 

ABN 77 613 885 859
PO BOX 533, CAMDEN NSW 2570
(02) 4654 5000 – 0409 207 969
DEAN@DEANROBINSON.COM.AU
DEANROBINSON.COM.AU

 

Copyright © 2017 Dean Robinson Group PTY LTD, All rights reserved.

 

To Plan for Prosperity

The risks that Dean highlighted in his column should provide adequate reason to pause and reflect. Operating at a technician level (as labor) does not afford the CEO adequate opportunity to develop and execute his or her vision. Short term decisions get made from a technician’s perspective which have long term effects that are not given sufficient consideration because the CEO’s chair remains vacant…because the CEO is running equipment and not the business.

Maybe if farm CEOs spent more time in the office and less time in equipment their equipment costs wouldn’t be so high…?

 

Cycles

Cycles

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The weekly op-ed by Kevin Hursh in the Western Producer is a regular read for me. His recent column, Taking Risks OK, but prepare for the next downturn is another resounding piece clamoring for farmers to sit up and take note.

Bullet proof your balance sheet during the good times, so you can catapult ahead of your competitors during the bad times.
If you get greedy during the good times, you’ll likely be on your knees in the bad times.

-Moe Russell, Russell Consulting Group, Iowa USA

We’ve all seen enough charts and graphs over the years to be able to acknowledge and recognize the cycles of the past. Has anyone ever been able to consistently predict a cycle’s beginning, end, or severity? Certainly few, if any, in the energy sector could have predicted what they are going through right now…

Your business produces commodity, and in the commodity business you have no control over the cycles that affect it. Recognizing that cycles will always be present and will always affect your business is the first step. The next step is to prepare.

The future will always belong to those who see the possibilities before they become obvious.

-Danny Klinefelter, Honors Professor & Founder of TEPAP, Texas A&M University

Hursh writes, “While no one can predict the future, it’s probably naive to think that grain prices will always be this strong relative to production costs…it would seem equally naive to think that a world grain glut couldn’t cut grain prices by a third or even by half for a prolonged time period.
” If you follow ag-economic news from the US midwest, you’ll know that farmers there have been under significant pressure, land values are dropping, and lenders are reducing credit limits and tightening lending terms. I’ve asked on a number of occasions, “Who thinks this can’t happen here (in western Canada)?” (ref. Twitter)

Market cycles will hurt some, but offer opportunity to others.
The difference between who suffers and who prospers is…Who’s Ready.

– Kim Gerencser

To Plan for Prosperity

If adhering to the advice in any of the three quotes above, to “bullet proof your balance sheet” & “see the possibilities” in order to “be ready” for the next round of business cycles…well, you better get lean!

While LEAN is possibly best known as a system of techniques and activities for running a manufacturing or service operation, in the context here LEAN means “sans fat.” Trimming the fat from your operation is a primary step to solving cash flow challenges, increasing profitability, and reducing risk. Driving down your operating costs is key to consistent profitability in a time when yields, production quality, and markets are anything but consistent.

Next, reduce the impact of emotion on your business decisions. Two basic human emotions, fear and greed, often have the biggest impact on “why” and “when” bad decisions get made.

In closing, your pragmatic 3-step plan to prosperity during cycles in the commodity business are:

  1. Get lean;
  2. Eliminate “fear and greed” from impacting business decisions;
  3. “Do what you do best, and get help for the rest™”

 

Complacency

Complacency

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You may recall the anecdotal story of an old fisherman sitting on a pier casting and catching all morning. With each catch, he’d pull out a small ruler to measure it. Some fish he’d keep, while others got thrown back. Upon closer observation, we learn that the ruler is broken and only measures to 9 inches; on top of that, any fish that measures more than 9 inches is thrown back while the smaller fish are kept. When confronted, the fisherman admits that his frying pan is only 9 inches in diameter.

When I was farming, on a number of growing years we put up some huge yields, bigger than my dad ever grew. His feedback was, “It’s too much (crop). What are going to do with it? There isn’t enough bin space!”

In both stories, we see examples of where there is a lack of interest or intent to be better, bolder, etc. And if something did not fit the narrow view, it was discarded as being more work that it was worth. Yes, progress brings about new challenges that differ from those we are familiar, but the opposite (meaning status quo) will eventually lead your business into its death-spiral.

Complacency is an incredibly dangerous business condition. You can’t always see it coming. It may be contagious. Treatment is sometimes difficult if sufferers refuse to consider they may be affected. Complacency causes your business to stop growing. It creates an environment where too often heard around your farm are the 6 deadliest words in business: “We’ve always done it this way.”

To Plan for Prosperity

  1. Know what you do best, and keep striving to do it better and better.
  2. Acknowledge what you don’t do well and get professional help with it so that it doesn’t become your Achilles heel.
  3. Recognize that GROWTH is not just size and scale. Seek out multiple ways to grow.

“Do what you do best, and get help for the rest™” is one of the cornerstones of my advisory work with clients. Complacency can be dealt with quickly with the right help, positive results can be had, and the “habit” can be broken.