Peter Hughes
Agri and Family Business Consultant; Farmers Weekly columnist
‘Ja, but…’ is just not good enough
A host of excellent organisations are on hand to help farmers institute ethical practices. Yet sometimes standards are truly abysmal.
Lose the swagger!
The truth is, whether you’re a politician or CEO, there is only one route to true leadership, the kind that makes a real and lasting contribution to the lives of those who depend on you.
Ignore it, and pay the price
If you don’t yet have a vision statement for your organisation on paper and if you haven’t agreed upon the ethics which apply to your business, do it soon. And never, ever break your own rules.
Integrity – a very precious possession
Integrity is a delicate jewel. It takes years to build, and only a few seconds to destroy.
Management lessons from Madiba
What gave Mandela such great influence? What unique lessons can he teach us about management?
No budget, no future
Follow these steps and benefit from the power a professional budget process brings to a business.
The power of numbers
Its impossible to plan properly without using numbers. But make sure you get them right!
Have you got what it takes to be great?
There are many good managers out there, but few really great ones. Here are the traits you’ll need to reach this exalted status.
Need help? Get a business coach
The level of management skills in our farming community is generally low. The average farmer can change this by getting himself a good business coach.
Make 2014 your year!
Great business managers don’t simply do what comes instinctively. They think deeply about the impact of their behaviour and actions on the people around them – and train themselves accordingly.
Money does not motivate
Amazingly, paying someone a ‘little extra’ to build loyalty and motivation may have the opposite effect – so beware.
As a farmer, you cannot go it alone
If your industry organisation is not delivering value, get to the heart of the problem, and fix the leadership and management. As a farmer, it’s part of your job.
Obeying the law of the land
Regardless of your farming method, take the ‘law of the land’, add some modernity, and you’ll farm forever.
Measure the success of your business
To measure the performance of your business, you need a target. Get yourself one by benchmarking against the best in the business.
Business teams must have objectives
Imagine musicians in an orchestra trying to make music without music sheets! But we expect members of a business team to perform without any clear written objectives. It makes no sense.
The balanced scorecard system
Improve your bottom line by developing clear objectives for managers and employees, and monitoring how these are achieved.
Improving poor performance
A good management system will improve performance and motivation. But in order to achieve this, focus on the result, and never on the person.
Get in a balloon
No great decisions were ever made around a boardroom table. Schedule quiet time to get away and think strategically, or you too could get run over by the traffic.
Build a business dashboard
Designing an effective dashboard is no easy matter, but backed by a disciplined system that delivers the right information at the right time to the right people, it adds a whole new dimension to management.
Tracking your data
Actively manage your information flow, and don’t be overwhelmed by floods of useless data.
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