Top 5 Business Management Actions on the Farm/Ranch
As we wrap up 2019, I want to share with you what comes to the top of my mind as actions that farms and ranches take when they are serious about their business management. If you are hitting the mark on these, well done! If not, then what will your strategy be to improve in […]
Professionalizing Your Ranch
There are two types of athletes, professionals and amateurs. The professionals get paid to play. The amateurs have to pay to play. I look at ranches the same way. The professionals get paid to ranch. The amateurs subsidize their operations with unpaid family labor, off-farm income and inherited wealth. Some people balk at the idea […]
“No” Starts The Conversation
“No” is a powerful word. There are dozens of ways to say it … “That won’t work here,” or “We tried that before and it didn’t work.” But regardless of how it is said, it protects the person who says it and can be maddening to the person who hears it. “No” protects the status […]
Which Circle Are You In?
I go to a lot of meetings. I often hear people complain about how tough we have it. The three favorite topics are bad weather, low prices and government regulations (three things you can’t do anything about). Those are followed up by gossip about the neighbor … and if the neighbor is there … it […]
You Can’t Retire From Ranching
How is the next generation ever supposed to step up if the current generation can’t step down or at least step aside? The short answer is they can’t. It’s one reason managerial authority on many ranches skips a generation. More calamitous, it’s a major reason why young people don’t stay in ranching and multi-generational ranches […]
Who Will Own What?
There are two big pieces to the estate planning puzzle: who will run what (management succession) and who will own what (the transfer of assets). In my last ProfitTips article I called management succession the more difficult of the two because it involves judging the competency of people you love and holding them accountable to […]
Succession Success
Most people assume that the biggest estate planning fights involve “Who will own what?” It’s been my experience that, “Who will run what?” is often an even bigger issue. “Who will own what?” is usually a question of perceived fairness. To heirs, “Who will run what?” is a question of respect. As part of a […]
Getting Everyone on the Same Page
University of Wyoming Extension agent and Ranching For Profit School instructor, Dallas Mount, recently led a management succession workshop in Baggs, Wyoming. Dallas is a gifted, innovative teacher, and I was flattered when he asked me to participate in the program. Dallas did a great job of distilling successful succession into five core areas. Getting […]
It’s Hard To Find Good Help …
… but it is even harder to find a good boss. I often hear employers complain that it is hard to find good help. I rarely hear them ask how they can be better bosses. Personally, I think most people want to do a good job. I don’t think employees want to be inefficient or […]
Hiring Good People Isn’t Enough
Good people? What’s that supposed to mean? Compared to what? Bad people? With the exception of the Hillside Strangler and Jack the Ripper, I’m hesitant to label very many people as “bad.” I’d like to think that nearly everyone is mostly good. Almost all of us want to be moral and responsible. The real problem […]