We had an excellent discussion recently in a class I’m teaching at the University of Manitoba when I asked students what could be done to help manage through difficult situations.
Good times are generally not a problem, not because problems don’t exist then but because good times tend to mask the underlying issues.
Problems and challenges arise when things become difficult.
Management experts say that working toward a defined future helps work through difficult situations.
The power of having a common goal or shared vision cannot be overstated. I’ve witnessed families successfully manage through extremely difficult situations because they had a common understanding of what they were working toward.
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In the absence of having a common understanding, human nature causes people to work toward what they individually think the purpose is or the outcomes should be. It is not effective for more than one person to work toward what they think the future should be.
In the worst-case scenario it can be destructive to the business and personal relationships.
The problems associated with individual agendas are compounded when dealing with difficult situations. Stress, anger, conflict, confrontation generally rise to the surface.
There can be no guarantees of success or exact recipes for working through difficult situations, but it clearly helps to have everybody on the same page.
There are three complementary and effective things that can be done to get people on the same page.
Set goals
This is one of the simplest and yet most effective things that can be done to get people working together. The goals need to be written down to make them more valid. They need to be discussed and shared with others in the family and in the business. By knowing what people hope to achieve, and when, you know better where to concentrate efforts.
Each individual should set specific goals for themselves, the family and the farm business. Goals can have different timelines for achievement: current (one year), short term (five years) and longer term (10 years). There are no right or wrong goals. Goals should be reviewed annually.
Establish a vision
A vision should state what the business owners and family want the farm to be like in the future. It provides meaning to the people in the business and in the work that they are doing.
There are technical and practical approaches to writing vision statements.
Technically, a vision statement should include three aspects, ideally in one or two short paragraphs:
- a comment about the values that are the basis for the business
- an envisioned future describing what the business will be like if it achieves its goals
- an understanding of how the business serves its stakeholders, which could be family and community
Practically, a vision statement can simply be:
- where people see the farm and family in the future (usually five years)
- how big will the farm be
- what will be going on in the farm business
- who will be involved
- major accomplishments
I think most families find writing a technically correct vision statement to be an abstract exercise. I find the practical approach is the most straightforward vision for families to define and is the easiest to develop specific actions to work toward.
Use goals and vision when making decisions
Goals and vision are worth defining because it involves discussing them within the family and referring to them as the business is managed. It includes setting specific actions that are designed to accomplish goals and work toward the vision.
Having articulated goals and vision is beneficial in all circumstances, not just when times are tough.
However, a common understanding that comes from having established goals and a vision can clearly be helpful when facing challenging situations.
