What do you want your life to look like when you retire? What do you want your legacy to look like when you die? What do you want your life to look like next year? They are all the same question around vision, but modified with timelines.
Most farm business owners cannot articulate beyond next year, and sometimes even next year is a stretch.
Why are we so terrible at strategic planning? Because we do not start with the basics.
The Cost of Not Writing It Down
“It’s just math.” My friend, Ben Gordon, uses this phrase a lot when talking about land ownership for future success. Like buying land, the decisions around business change, growth and strategy can be emotional.
So, it’s not always just math, but it is a good place to start.
You are something like 40% more likely to accomplish a goal if you write it down, and less than 4% of people actually write them down. Can you imagine if I told you that you might make 40% more dollars next year if you had a written plan, but only 1 out of 25 people would actually do it?
That is borderline insanity.
Clarity for Your Business and Life
Another fun math equation is backing into long-term numbers. “I own 1,000 acres currently and I want to own 1,000 more acres in 2056 when I plan to retire”. Ok, every decade you should be buying half a section or so. 8/10 years you should be buying a 40. Or, if you buy 320 now you’re good for 10 years maybe. There’s lots of ways to look at it, but until you do the math it seems overwhelming.
Now, I want you to picture exactly where you want to be in ten years. What are you and your spouse doing? Who is involved in the business? How has the business changed? How frequently are you traveling? What are you driving? How is your relationship with God? What has gone well? What do you still want to do? Get very specific.
It’s a great mental exercise.
Whatever you want your life and your business to look like, do me a favor: write it down. Share it with your business partners, and your family. Set personal goals. What if you just had to write them down?
