The folly of Magical Thinking.

In 2012 I caused a stir by claiming the Year of the Farmer was the right message at the wrong time.

In just one year millions of dollars were spent on a self-indulgent pat-on-the-back aimed at encouraging people to appreciate food producers.

Since then there has been a mountain of stuff written and numerous initiatives launched hoping to bridge a perceived gap between food and consumers.

Markets are harder to engage and people are spoilt for choice.  It’s true that constant pressure to do better and the unrelenting competition of globalisation can cause an industry to suffer somewhat of an identity crisis.

In reaction to this we are now living in an era of wanting to be liked.  That is, if only people understood us and appreciated us more, they would buy our products and pay more for them.

Despite popular opinion and the purveyance of social media, being liked is not a business strategy.

The agribusiness and food industry has been suffering a bad case of magical thinking.

Magical thinking is a concept developed by famous neurologist and founder of modern psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud.

It leads people to believe their thoughts about themselves can change how others act towards them.

For businesses seeking to grow within agribusiness and food industry, the folly of magical thinking is a lesson in how not to be self-centric about what you provide.

Magical thinking should never be used as an excuse to not develop the skills your business needs to think differently and to increase the innovative capability your people.

So if you want to be noticed, put amazingly creative products or services in front of people, loaded with user experience and convenience.