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162: Could Your Operation Survive Without You · CattleUSA Daily

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  Welcome to the Cattle USA Daily podcast, your go to source for
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  the latest livestock markets, industry insights and the update
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  shaping agriculture today. I'm your host, Lauren Moylan, a
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  passionate advocate for agriculture, here to keep you
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  informed and connected. Now let's dive into today's
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  episode. Hey y'all, welcome back to
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  another episode of the Cattle USA Daily Podcast.
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  I hope you guys have had a great day so far.
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  I have been back in the office for when this podcast comes out,
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  about a week and a half now, almost two weeks.
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  And I went on vacation for a week and a half, and I did not
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  check my e-mail once while I was gone.
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  I didn't do any client work. And it got me thinking about how
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  that relates to those of us in agriculture on the farm and
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  ranch. What does that look like for
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  business owners there? If you left for a week, would
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  your operation continue to operate and move forward?
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  Would it be at a standstill or would the walls frankly come
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  crumbling down? Now, this isn't just about
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  vacations, although taking a break is something we probably
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  need to talk more about as well. It is also about what happens if
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  life takes an unexpected turn. What if you break your leg and
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  you get stuck in the hospital for a week?
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  What if something bigger sidelines you?
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  Will your business still be standing when you get back or
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  for those who have to take the reins in your place?
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  That is what I want to dig into tonight.
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  I want to talk about systems succession and building
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  something that lasts beyond just you.
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  Most of us like to think that we are indispensable, and in some
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  ways that's true. Nobody cares about your place
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  like you do. But if your entire operation
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  depends on you being there every single day, then it's
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  vulnerable. Cattle still need fed if you
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  have a broken leg and you're in the hospital, bills still need
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  paid if you're gone and your family still need stability if
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  things take a turn, if everything stops without you.
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  That should not be something that we see as a strength.
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  That is a weak point in our operations.
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  The first step is systems. In this whole thing, I want you
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  all to ask yourself, could someone step in tomorrow and
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  know what to do with systems? We can start simple.
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  You got feeding schedules and amounts.
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  You've got pasture rotations, what's open, what's closed.
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  You've got that contact info and protocols for sick calves, and
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  then you've got where supplies are kept and how they're stored
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  and all of those things. This doesn't need to be a
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  polished manual. It doesn't have to be anything
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  like that. A notebook in the shop, a
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  whiteboard in the barn, a shared notes app on your phone.
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  All of those things work. But the point is that this
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  information gets out of your head and into a place where
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  others can use it if you are unable to.
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  But systems only work if someone knows how to use them and knows
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  about them. If your spouse, kids, or
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  employees are a part of the operation, make sure they
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  understand the why behind what you do.
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  Don't just say feed pin three first.
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  Explain why that context helps them make good decisions when
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  you're not around. Also, think beyond cattle care
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  with all of this. Who knows how to call the
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  banker, how to order, feed, handle the payroll?
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  If all of those things are only stored in your head, your whole
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  operation is 1 accident away from crumbling.
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  Then there's also the longer term side of this, and that is
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  succession planning. And this isn't just about what
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  happens when you're gone for good.
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  It's about making sure that your operation has a plan for the
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  future, just in general, whether it's in five years or 30 years.
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  If your kids want it, start that conversation today.
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  If they don't, what's the plan? What role do your spouses want
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  or not want if you're not around?
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  And make sure that your business is honestly just healthy enough
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  to pass on. Clear records, manageable debt,
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  and written agreements all make it easier for the next person to
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  step in without a fight. Succession.
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  It isn't just about giving up control, it is also about
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  protecting what you've built so it doesn't vanish when you're
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  not there. So what can you do this week?
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  I want you #1 write down the basic daily and weekly tasks
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  that you are doing. Put it in a shared notes app
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  with the people around you. So it's just there.
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  That way they know, hey, in the morning we're feeding these
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  rows, in the morning and evening we're feeding these rows like
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  things as simple as that. And trying to update it every
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  once in a while and just having a clear line of communication of
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  like, hey, this is what we're doing.
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  This is why we're doing it. Get it out of your own head and
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  share it with other people. With that, make sure at least
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  one other person knows where to find what you're doing.
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  That's why I encourage a shared notes app.
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  If you don't have an iPhone and you can't do a shared notes app,
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  do a binder, do a notebook, do something like that, but just
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  make sure that person knows where to find it.
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  And then if you want to go above and beyond, make sure there's
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  copies of it. Put one in your important
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  document spot and then put one somewhere else where it's easy
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  to find as well. And then I want you all to start
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  the conversation about your future with your spouse, your
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  kids, and your business partners.
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  And again, it can be the future in five years or the future in
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  30 years. Succession planning does not
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  mean that you're going to die. I think sometimes that gets a
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  bad rap. It also just means what are we
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  going to do when the future comes?
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  When I decide that I want to retire, When I decide that I
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  want to move forward with my life and do something else, what
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  does that look like? And at the end of the day, the
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  goal is simple, to build an operation that can stand even
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  when you are not the one standing behind it.
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  So whether it is a vacation or an injury or an unexpected
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  curveball that life throws your way, the reality of the
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  situation is life happens. The question is, will your
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  business keep moving forward or will it collapse without you?
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  That is up to the systems and the plans that you put in place
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  today. Now, someone who just got back
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  and their business was able to keep on running while they were
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  gone, while they weren't checking emails, doing client
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  work, doing all of these things, I can tell you those systems and
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  those plans will make your life a hell of a lot better.
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  Thank you all for listening to another episode of the Cattle
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  USA Daily Podcast. I appreciate you guys being here
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  with us and spending every day with us over here at the
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  podcast. We really appreciate it at the
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  team. If you enjoyed today's podcast,
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  please like, subscribe, rate and review.
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  We really appreciate it and it helps us continue to grow, reach
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  more people and do all of those things.
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  So thank you all again for listening.
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  I hope you have a blessed rest of your day and we'll see you
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  all tomorrow on another episode. Have a good one y'all.