The Power of Visuals
The flip chart is one of the most important pieces of equipment on the ranch. If you are not using one, it is likely costing your businesses tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands each year. Every time you have a meeting on the ranch or when discussing something as a ranch team someone should […]
Read MoreSystems Thinking
I was recently given some book recommendations by Executive Link member, Shanon Sims. Book recommendations are everywhere right now, but when someone you respect says “read this book” you pay attention. Shanon recommended The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge. The Fifth Discipline is about training yourself to think in terms of systems. Humans are predisposed […]
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 More4 Strategies to Improve Gross Margin per Unit
As a student in my very first Ranching For Profit School I was told to make sure I was shooting at the right target before taking aim. That’s common sense. But it’s not commonly practiced. Livestock producers are great marksmen, but they are often shooting at the wrong target. The target most producers aim at […]
Read MoreMonuments to Tax Avoidance
We have our end of the year tax appointment next Monday. That reminded me of a ranch I visited a few years ago. The owner’s son showed me around. As we pulled out of the yard we passed a big aerator they’d bought to crush sagebrush. If you aren’t familiar with aerators, the drum is […]
Read MoreScraping By
I received the following email from a young rancher last week: Dave, I am a young rancher and have grown my herd to over 100 cows over the last four years. In addition to my own operation I earn additional income working for my Dad on his place. I owe $15,000 of my cattle loan, have […]
Read MoreTwo Mornings A Week
Several weeks ago I included a WOTB quiz in a ProfitTips column in which readers could score the extent to which they work ON their businesses. Click here to read that column. The column was picked up by some other publications and wound up generating conversations on several other popular blogs. Most of the people making comments said that […]
Read MoreTop 10 Challenges In Ranching
In the last ProfitTips I asked you to share the challenges you face in ranching and share you did. Here is your list of the top 10 challenges facing your ranch: #10: We have a victim attitude We will never succeed if all we do is blame others for our failures. Self-proclaimed victims abdicate […]
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