Lagging vs Leading Indicators
“When we choose the wrong measurement, we get the wrong behavior” (James Clear, Atomic Habits). At the Ranching for Profit School, we talk about how paradigms, actions, and results are related to ranching. These concepts look hard at why the business does what the business does. First let’s talk about money. A very common financial […]
Read MoreWorking Backwards
One of Stephen Covey’s seven habits of highly successful people is to “start with the end in mind.” We use this a lot at our Ranching for Profit School, particularly during the evening coaching sessions when students are preparing their economic numbers. The Ranching for Profit economic model breaks down a business into gross margins […]
Read MoreUses for Profit
When we talk about uses for profit some people roll their eyes. “Profit – yeah right! Like that ever happens in agriculture.” The reality is that most ag operations are not profitable. In fact most are really expensive hobbies. However, it doesn’t have to be that way. Many are profitable every year. Some are highly […]
Read MoreBreak Your Legs
Remember in the movies when the bookie’s tough guy would knock on the door and threaten to “break your legs” if they didn’t pay up? Sometimes, I think many of us would be better managers for our operations if someone broke our legs. If our legs were broken we wouldn’t be able to go outside […]
Read MoreWhat is Your Role in the Ranch?
Is your primary role in your business working as a doer or a planner? When the doer goes out the door in the morning, they get to work doing all the things that need to be done in the business. The list is never ending. Fix the water in the Smith pasture, put out mineral […]
Read MoreMoneyball is a Movie About Ranching
The first time I watched the movie Moneyball, I about came out of my chair thinking, “This movie is about ranching”. The correlations are strong and the lessons from the movie are absolutely appropriate to agricultural businesses. In the movie Moneyball, Billy Beane is the general manager of the Oakland A’s, who have just lost […]
Read MoreGoing Backwards Working for Wages
I was having a conversation with a ranch family the other day about doing their own trucking. They haul cattle to corn stalks and back each year, so they hire about 20 loads hauled to get it done. They were running numbers thinking about what owning a semi and cattle pot (trailer) would cost. They […]
Two Mornings to Change Your Business
If you’ve been through the Ranching For Profit School you recognize the importance of working ON the business (WOTB). If blocking out time for WOTB is challenging for you, you aren’t alone. Scheduling adequate time to work on the businesses is often THE most difficult challenge RFP graduates face when they get home. The problem […]
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 […]
Planning in a Volatile Market
The landscape for marketing your products is changing so quickly it is hard to keep track of the changes that occur on almost a daily basis. I’m tired of hearing the term “uncertain times” during the coronavirus pandemic. Has there ever been “certain times”? Definitely not when it comes to ag markets! I’ve been spending […]