Adding a New Enterprise
We are in the final days of our 2021 winter Executive Link meetings where Ranching for Profit alumni form peer advisory boards and look into each other’s businesses for strategic level advice. One issue that frequently comes up is the evaluation of adding a new enterprise to the operation. The operator is often excited about […]
Read MoreWinter Calving
Calving season has begun across cow-country and so have the stories of sleepless nights, calves being brought inside the house to warm up and heroic tales of battling the recent polar vortex across the country. Granted this weather was extremely unusual for some parts of the country, but for places where this is part of […]
Read MoreRanching Network
One of the challenges in working in the ranching profession is the difficulty of finding a network of forward thinking, driven and creative problem solvers. Many of us enjoy the ability to work on our own or with a small team, but when it comes to strategic level visioning and planning it sure helps to […]
Read MoreGet Better Before Getting Bigger
Our busy season of conducting Ranching for Profit Schools has just begun. Last week, I had the pleasure of dropping in on the school in Abilene, TX and meeting some outstanding participants. It is always an honor to be trusted enough to be invited to help a business discover a new path forward that will […]
Read MoreFocus on What We Can Control
When the US Air Force Thunderbirds perform a formation roll maneuver the slot pilot is surrounded on all sides in close formation by other aircraft. He maintains his position by intense focus on a point of the aircraft next to him. He can’t be distracted by watching the aircraft behind him. The pilot focuses only […]
Read MoreEssentialism
Each fall and winter our Executive Link meetings start with a continuing education program. We usually reach for something outside the ranching world that our members would not otherwise be exposed to. Often this is a book from business management circles. This fall our book is Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. […]
Read MoreHaving the Courage to Talk
I’m extremely fortunate that I have the pleasure of working with an exceptional group of clients and colleagues. Those who choose to attend the Ranching for Profit School are already a cut above the average agricultural business operator. They are above average because they have chosen to make a significant investment in themselves along with […]
Read MoreHealthy Land, Happy Families and Profitable Businesses: Stan Parsons’ Legacy
Hazel Parsons emailed me last Wednesday that her husband, Stan, died earlier that day from Covid-19 related pneumonia. I sat staring at the email, absorbing the news and trying to imagine what my life would have been like had I not met Stan. I first heard of Stan Parsons when I was an undergrad […]
Read MoreGet Outside Your Area
Are you happy with the results your business is producing? If you want different results, you need to act differently. In order to act differently, we must think differently. If you think producing big calves is the secret to a profitable ranch, you will take actions to produce big calves. At the Ranching for Profit […]
Read MoreIrresistible Change
I reviewed articles in Harvard Business Review, Forbes and Fast Company on resistance to change. The articles laid out the 12 reasons, the 10 factors and the 5 keys to resistance. The more I read, the more convinced I am that they have it ALL wrong! I encounter my fair share of people who are […]
Read More