the great Ukrainian pole vaulter said just before attempting a world record…’if not now, when? If not me, who ?’ Those simple yet profound words put the onus squarely on you to do whatever needs to be done NOW. No prevarication, no avoidance, no backsliding….it requires bravery, discipline and action.
an interesting conundrum developed recently where a farmer lost legal possession to an area of farmland in the south west of WA because he had not asserted his right to this parcel of land that had been inadvertently farmed by his neighbor for longer than the 12 year limit. Basically a fence line was incorrect and no-one did anything about it until the neighbor filed a claim under the adverse possession terms of the WA law. The ‘squatter’ was successful! This can also happen in residential situations where fence lines are wrongly surveyed. The take home message from this issueRead more...
my pet hate over many years has been dealing with business people and their bookkeepers who never ask for assistance but battle on making serious record keeping errors. If you ask them why they did not seek assistance they come up with every excuse under the sun [ I was sure it was ok, your fees are too high, why can’t it be sorted now? etc ]. In most spheres of business 75% success rate equals a distinction but a 25% error rating in accounting could spell disaster. Waiting for a monthly or quarterly review of the books could beRead more...
There is always a lot of talk about ‘succession planning’ and as I write this blog it has again erupted on radio as the biggest problem facing our farming community. What a lot of BS. Any business plan worth reading has an exit strategy, and that is really what we talk about when succession is raised. I have been involved with business and farming for over 40 years and in my view it always comes down to ‘communication’ and the family dynamics and culture that have evolved over many years. The best plans can still come unstuck if the leaderRead more...
power and politics in the business context ….you will learn best from conflict..it is delusional to expect staff to align their interests with you in the long term. You must try to put yourself in their shoes and grasp their motivations. You must develop a ‘learning organization’ ….one which adapts and changes almost constantly….you need to systemize your business so that it can be scaled, replicated and managed independently of you.