How clear are your farm business goals?

How clear are your business goals? Can you measure them and track your progress against them? 

A couple of weeks ago my wife kindly had my running watch repaired, after it had been broken for several months. I was still running regularly and enjoying it, ticking off my weekly distance target, but had noticed I was not pushing myself as much as I used to – there was plenty of quantity, but little quality to what I was doing. As soon as I had my watch back, I started to record the times on my regular runs. Making running measurable again had an immediate impact and has driven me to aim for constant improvement in my performance, rather than just go through the motions. 

In my consulting business, I constantly set and review goals – annual, quarterly and monthly turnover, days worked, new clients etc. These objectives are easy to measure and provide great motivation in my work. 

Many of my farmer clients do not have clear business or personal goals and therefore cannot measure them nor use them for motivation to achieve a desired level of performance. Gaining an understanding of current business performance and setting realistic yet challenging targets which can be easily measured, provide both motivation and an opportunity to pat yourself on the back for a job well done when you make or exceed your objectives. 

So, how is your business going? Where is it going? Will you know when you get there or is it time to buy yourself a watch? 

Until next time, Tony.