What did you achieve in 2010? Have you moved forward from where you were or are you still in the same place? Have you regressed? Either way, a review of our own performance is crucial in delivering results. Hopefully you advanced towards achieving more of what is most important to you - if so, good on you!
The Personal Leadership article published 12 months ago (January 2010) entitled “What is Personal Leadership and why is it important?” gave some base thinking and solid principles for successful performance. The above questions are important ones to ask yourself. How well have you used the last 12 months to achieve / progress / create / help / synergise and build?
Farm business results in New Zealand have historically been poor. There has been much added turmoil since the Global Financial Meltdown which began in 2008. I wrote then that “To emerge with just reasonable annual farm business results requires very effective management. But being effective is no longer optional – it is the price of entry to the playing field.” Is this obvious yet?
I also wrote that "We must learn how to operate with equity position and positive cash flow, not just capital gain. We must learn to bank and keep profit every year. We must know how to turn our basic resource (pasture) into cash. We need to know how to set up for that (financially and physically) to ensure it happens. We need to measure our businesses so that we know where we are and where we are going, as well as what options (Plans B, C, D, or E) we have available if needed."
It is a fundamental characteristic of human behaviour that we get to make choices every day and create our lives to order. Some will choose to sit and watch opportunities go by; others will take and/or create opportunities, while still others won’t even be aware of opportunities in the first place. Depending on how you view yourself and the world, your choices will dictate which group you put yourself in. Have any of the above points from the original article made sense? Have you done something about them yourself? If you have, keep up the great work! If you haven’t done anything but these points make sense, why not?
As I wrote then, “To get new results requires the formation of new habits, therefore new actions, therefore new thinking. New thinking requires a new way of viewing ourselves and the world. This is about paradigm change, not just tweaking the current situation.” If you are unhappy with your results and current paradigm, then do something about it! Most New Zealand farmers are extremely unhappy with their businesses and perceived lack of freedoms. These things will not fix themselves – it takes effort and it needs to be undertaken by you!
Since that article 12 months ago, I have published many pointers outlining how to step up and focus your efforts to not only deliver great results, but to also change your paradigm for the better. Reading words without taking action may be stimulating but your results will indicate if those words have made a difference in your life. The key is to decide once and for all that the risk of having a great life well beyond where you are now, is more important than the familiarity of poor results and the “comfort” of not having to stretch oneself to greater effort.
How well have you utilised the past 12 months?