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PART 1
CLARITY
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CHAPTER 1
A Strategic Blueprint for Your Future Farm
Farming is more than just a job or business. It is about passion, lifestyle and heritage. Farming is also a big commitment. Whether your farm is new to you, has been in the family for generations, or is leased or managed, it is no doubt important to you. Before setting goals and actions, it is helpful to step back and think about what your farm and being a farmer mean to you. Those thoughts will impact on how you would describe your ideal situation in the future.
What does the future look like?
What is it about this future that is important to you?
Who will share the journey with you?
What is driving you to make a change?
Those farming businesses attaining their sustainability goals are clear about what they want to achieve and why it is important to them.
The first part of this book is dedicated to achieving clarity about the future of your business through a strategic planning process, documented in a strategic plan. This involves bringing members of the team together to actively participate in the development of a shared vision and underpinning values, and collectively describing the ideal future. A strategic plan simply documents the decisions of the team. This becomes a point of reference that guides all future decisions.
The value of strategic planning is sometimes not seen until you have been through the process. It can be hard to pinpoint current problems, and a lack of leadership, direction or clear decision-making can leave teams simply reacting to issues as they arise. This can result in a narrow focus on day-to-day operations and chasing short-term gains to stay afloat. As with any business team, losing sight of the key goals and purposes can be detrimental to making good decisions for the future and keeping the business on track.
If you assume that you know what family members, business partners or staff want, they may become disengaged. The simple process of asking them questions about their aspirations and what is important to them can change the dynamics of relationships and even address feelings of worth. By being proactive on things important to them, the team can enjoy a positive experience and avoid a reactionary approach leading to decisions being made that are not supported or valued.
The chapters in part one will:
•Discuss why strategic planning is important;
•Demonstrate how to work with the team through a strategic planning process; and
•Show how key elements of the plan document may be presented.
Why do you need a strategic plan?
A STRATEGIC PLAN basically describes what your future farm looks like and what it means to the team and business. It is designed to provide scope for a call to action on matters that are important. Operational decisions should align with the strategic plan.
How a strategic plan is developed is just as critical as the plan itself. Strategic planning will bring together the people who share your goal for the business. It will bring to the surface the shared values as well as the differences across the team, and provide an opportunity to agree on what is important and what you collectively want to achieve.
Strategic planning will also help determine what is outside the scope of the business and what is unrealistic to address. Documenting your decisions about the intentions of the business will make priorities clear for the team and other stakeholders. The plan becomes a point of agreement and validation when it comes to future actions.
The absence of a strategic plan often results in a lack of clarity and agreement about what the business hopes to achieve and why. A robust decision-making process brings about collective agreement, so a lack of this can lead to frustration, with expectations about what the team intends to achieve differing across members. This chapter will help you to avoid potential problems by having everyone on the same page.
I recently had the pleasure of working with a farming team to prepare a strategic plan for their business. They are forward thinkers with deep aspirations for long-term healthy production systems that nurture their environment, people and community. The three families were already close and working well together. However, by trying to communicate with everyone on the team, decision-making would often be slow and ad hoc. Team members didn’t know what information and consultation they needed until they came to the point of making a decision. This was because they didn’t have a common understanding of business values and goals.
Therefore, the process of sharing their values and ambitions and coming to an agreed position was liberating for the team. Each person felt understood and articulated their collective purpose with intent and clarity. Big decisions they were struggling with prior to this process are now guided by an agreed reference point. Each member of the team has the confidence to act based on values, principles and goals that give clear direction about what is in, and what is out. The process affirmed their own relationships and desires for the business and validated their ‘gut feel’ about the type of people and businesses they wanted to work with in pursuit of their goals.
By walking through a strategic planning process, you can articulate and reconnect with your aspirations and the aspirations of the team to find a renewed sense of energy and focus. This, in itself, makes the plan self-fulfilling.
A strategic plan should be focused on what is important and why. Other types of planning will focus on how to overcome the issues and the actions required to achieve the desired goals. But the ‘why’ must be established first. This relates to the shared values of the people involved and is covered in more detail in the next chapter. For now, consider the benefits of having an agreed plan to guide the future of your farming business.
ACTION: WORK WITH YOUR TEAM
Have a discussion with your team about the benefits of having an agreed strategic plan. This discussion will inform the purpose of the plan.
What is the purpose of your strategic plan?
Strategic planning aims to develop a shared vision with the team. It is designed to bring clarity to the intentions and direction of the business – what the business aims to achieve and why it is important.
A strategic plan can be used internally in different ways, such as:
•Communicating the overarching mission, values, goals and commitments of the business.
•Guiding further planning and actions to bring about improvement to the current situation.
•Validating whether actions have achieved the intended goals.
•Directing how the change process is managed.
A strategic plan can be a powerful document that strengthens the pursuit of the business. It allows the team to consistently and confidently communicate with exter...
