Frye: Try this exercise to get a few to-dos ‘off your plate’

If you’re like most people who own and lead a farm business, chances are you’re a rather busy person. Since you’re the owner, you know you ultimately hold the responsibility for the business and to see your business succeed.

Because you’re responsible and want to see your business succeed, you also probably take a lot of personal responsibility to make sure things get done in the operation. That’s great and I’ll bet it’s partly what’s gotten you to where you are today.

But there can also be a downside to taking all the responsibility around making sure things get done, especially if you’re trying to do it all yourself. As a farm operation grows, the amount of work that must get done grows and the amount of management and leadership required in the operation increases, too.

With a growing operation, the farm owner simply can’t be the one who “does it all.” This means moving more toward the mindset of a manager where you’re working primarily through other people.

Doing Too Much?

Some signs that you might still be trying to do it all include: burnout, feeling like there’s never enough time to accomplish what you need to do, a to-do list that never gets completely checked off, working non-stop on tasks that could readily be done by a family member or employee, or having new health problems begin or existing health issues worsen.

If you’re a farm leader with too much on your plate, I’d like you to try this exercise. Set aside some office time alone by yourself to do this.

First, write a list that includes every single thing you currently are doing in your operation. This might take a while.

Next, draw three columns alongside your list. Label the first column “Keep,” the second column “Delegate Inside” and the third column “Delegate Outside.”

The Three Columns

Now let’s look at what each of those three columns refer to:

1. Keep. The items that belong in your “Keep” column are the responsibilities only you, as the farm’s owner and leader, can do. Farm CEO-level responsibilities, such as monitoring the farm’s financial success and planning for capital purchases, belong in this column. This also includes strategic-level items such as strategic planning and planning for future growth — anything at the highest level. Be very conservative with what you put in this column. Ask yourself whether it’s the type of work a Fortune 500 CEO would be engaging in.

2. Delegate Inside. For anything not in your “Keep” column, it’s going to be in one of two “Delegate” columns. I’m referring to delegating either to someone inside of your operation such as family members involved in the operation and employees or someone outside of your operation such as advisers, consultants and accountants. The first people to consider are those in your operation who will be leading in the future. They are good candidates for your “Delegate Inside” tasks that require leadership, but can come off your plate at this time. Others in your operation may be a good fit for anything else you’re currently doing that doesn’t necessarily require they be involved in ownership or leadership now or in the future.

3. Delegate Outside. If you don’t have employees or if your current team is already working to the max, consider what you can delegate outside of your operation, whether to advisers, consultants or financial helpers such as a bookkeeper. Sometimes it’s helpful to bring in expertise from the outside to complement the expertise you already have inside of your operation. If you and your future leader aren’t drawn toward marketing and creating marketing plans, you can consider hiring a market adviser and delegating part of the marketing work to them — while still holding the ultimate market decision-making for your operation. You can talk with our advisers about the programs we offer for farmers who’d like that flexibility.

Our market advisers partner with and bring education around different marketing tools. They also help farmer clients with planning and execution around marketing decisions.

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