In the words of Winston Churchill...........

Much of the history behind our agribusiness and food industry is built on the stories of people that had big hairy audacious goals (BHAG).

They were larger-than-life characters with a compelling and inspiring vision of the future.  Indeed many of them were actually politicians.

Now would be a good time to have these people around.  They would revel in the opportunities before us.

Unfortunately, a different story is emerging.  There is new evidence to suggest that our agribusiness and food industry will not take advantage of the global food boom.  We are largely uninspired and will miss out.

A broad assessment is that Australia suffers from a bad case of short-termism.

So how does this erode our capacity to capture new market opportunities?

 

Short-termism is a breeding ground for two key challenges in business: the problem of shifting the burden and the problem of diminishing goals.

Put simply it means rather than improve the performance of the business, we lower our aspirations.

Consequently, as the business stops growing we then become addicted to seeking quick fixes.  It's someone else's problem.  An example of this is a heavy reliance on Government.

The impact is an industry not healthy enough to capture the global food boom.

Look closely and you’ll see that short-termism has become big business.  I find this very disturbing.

There are those that seek to gain by ensuring nothing ever really happens.  Slicing and dicing so there is no momentum.

They thrive on spin and chaos, clipping away at what little margin is left with no real vision of the future.

In the words of a man with compelling vision, Sir Winston Churchill, "sure I am that this day now we are the masters of our fate."

Now is the time for some big hairy audacious goals.

Let’s hear them.  We all want to be inspired.

The ideology behind last night's Federal Budget.

Do you have an interest in the relationship between politics and economics and why Australia got the budget it got last night?

Is the avalanche of commentary surrounding last night's budget confusing you even more?

The following speech will help you pin-back the fundamentals about what is going on and explains the political movement that has arrived in Australia.

The speech is called The End of the Age of Entitlement and was delivered as a key address in April 2012 by Minister Hockey to The Institute of Economic Affairs in London.

Click here to access:  The End of the Age of Entitlement.

There is also a great TEDx presentation by James Stone of the same title.

Click here to access:  The End of the Age of Entitlement.

What's my take-home message for regional business, agribusiness and food?

If you're not creating or extracting value, the Government will no longer be in a position to help you.

Have we lost the art of collaboration?

In 2005 the International Cooperative Alliance launched a new initiative called Global300.  It brought together information about the world’s 300 largest cooperative organisations.  

By analysing seven key industries, the Global300 Report demonstrated the strength of the collaborative business model.

The Global300 Report was recently replaced with the World Cooperative Monitor.  2032 cooperatives in 56 countries are now analysed each year.

What’s blatantly obvious from this research is the top organisations that have thrived post-Global Financial Crisis are cooperatives, especially in the agribusiness and food sector.  In fact many have experienced strong growth.

Cooperatives are punching well above their weight, with flexibility and adaptability a key feature of their success.  It’s also blatantly obvious that of the 2032 cooperatives monitored, Australia is virtually nowhere to be seen.

The Cooperative Bulk Handling (grain) ranked 153 and Murray Goulburn Cooperative Company Limited (dairy) ranked 186.  That's it.

Interestingly, New Zealand’s Fonterra Cooperative Group (dairy) is the fourth largest cooperative in the world.  A tiny nation representing a sector that is only 1% subsidised (Australia is 9%) has climbed to the top by shortening its supply chain; in other words collaborating to develop a value chain.

Indeed, many of the global food companies that people so-fear will take over our local agribusiness and food sector are cooperatives and private collaborations.

As the ‘agricultural powerhouse’ most noted to exploit the food boom, it seems Australia has been distanced from the action.  There is evidence to suggest it is because we stopped collaborating.

Consequently, the small businesses that make up 98% of industry are left feeling powerless and vulnerable to globalisation.

Cooperative is a dirty word amongst some who are in the sunset of their involvement in agribusiness and food.

So one of the great opportunities I see in the area of succession planning for the industry is to clear the way for a new generation of participants that I believe are natural collaborators.

So why don't we want to collaborate?  Are the benefits of collaborative behaviour misunderstood in Australia?  Have we lost the art of collaborating?  

Have we been losing competitive advantage because of this?

Click on comment below and share your view.

Australia's gloom boom.

Yes it’s true.  Australia is having a boom.

 

A boom in gloom.

Quite frankly readers, I’m sick of it.

In my previous blog I talked about the dangers of indecisiveness.  I described indecisiveness as a disease.

Like many diseases, it is the result of a prolonged exposure to something that is not good for you.

That something is negativity.

I’m a large consumer of content, dialogue, discussion, commentary and debate within the agribusiness and food sector - and beyond.

If the current language used is a barometer of progress, then I am very worried about our prospects.

The level of vitriol, animosity, intolerance, anger, blaming and spitefulness scares me.  It’s not a good look.

Happy to have the debate, but cut the crap.

So we’ve established we’re all under pressure right now.  Enough said.

I love the parallels between business and sport and how to deal with pressure.

You’re either in the game or not.

As all good athletes will tell you, if things are not going as planned it’s very important to use a sense of voice to talk yourself back into the game.

This is known as self-speak, or self-talk.

We must talk ourselves back into the game.  And pull-aside those talking in a manner that is simply not helpful.

Practising self-talk is a great influence on the esteem of those around you at work and the confidence of the industry you are in.

There are three easy steps:

• -       Listen
• -       Monitor.
• -       Change.

Listen to what you are about to say or write.  Question your intentions.  Change your behaviour.

I urge people to start developing some habits within their business that start setting a healthy tone.

It might not seem like much, but if we all improve our self-talk the industry can move ahead with the clarity and self-belief it needs.

The pandemic that is killing-off your business.

Dis-ease (dih-zeez): any harmful, depraved or morbid condition, as of the mind or society – or business.

About 6 years ago a new disease emerged that has since been slowly killing-off Australian small businesses.

This disease is called indecision.

What has allowed this disease to take-hold so easily?

Our obsession with risk.

Risk simply means you don’t know what the future holds.  Will the future be good or bad?  You don’t know yet.

Post-GFC obsession with risk as a negative event has stalled many businesses because people have stopped making decisions.

Why is it important to keep making decisions?

To keep moving your business forward.

What is it you need to keep deciding about?

Your future strategy.

Try this.

When determining your future strategy, put risk aside and focus on compromise.

Every different strategy has an individual set of compromises.

Work out what they are.

Decide which set of compromises your business is most comfortable and most able to deal with.

Act on that strategy.

If I’m not making these regular decisions, why is it going to kill my business?

Because without strategy your business is just wasting time.

What has time got to do with it?

The biggest cost of operating a business is the cost of time.

Making decisions shrinks time.  Not making decisions expands time.

It is the expansion of the cost of time, because people have stopped making decisions about strategy that is quietly killing-off many small businesses in Australia.

BTW – if you’re not making decisions on strategy because you can’t find a set of compromises you are happy with, then you are at the point of deciding should the business continue-on at all.