Hugh McPherson – Page 4 – Hugh McPherson

07 May 2022

Stop beating yourself up Part 1 – The Cyclical Nature of Motivation

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms

I never believed in work-life balance. Stop beating yourself up Part 1 - The Cyclical Nature of Motivation You gotta give 110% all the time. That is how I typically function, and if I'm not giving 110%, if there is any margin left, I must fill that time with something productive. At least that's what I used to think. That's what workaholics think. Any spare time is wasted time you have to "max out." Max out your finances.Max out your time at work.Max out your effort each day in the gym. Last few years, this started not to feel right. I think maxed out, always-on, and full-throttle…

07 Apr 2022

“Energy Roadblocks & Speed Bumps” – Energy Growth Part 2 of 3

Agritourism, Employee Management, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Seasonal Business

Speed bumps sap your team's energy. "Energy Roadblocks & Speed Bumps" - Energy Growth Part 2 of 3 "We've been over this and over this and over this." "How many times do we have to have this same discussion?" "That's not something we talk about." Speed bumps. Energy is not tied directly to the number of things you need to do but instead fluctuates based on the rewards of doing the tasks. Completing a project generates energy. Achieving a goal creates energy. Making solid progress and seeing the results of your work all create energy. Repeating decisions, arguing, misdirection, interruptions, starting and stopping all suck energy; these are all speed…

01 Apr 2022

“Ice is unpredictable.”

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Maple Lawn Farms, Seasonal Business

We had a legitimate winter, so I tried a new hobby my Minnesota farm friends recommended. Thought I was doing it pretty good! "Ice is unpredictable." It's a quieter time on the farm in winter. We finally get some downtime, and when visiting friends at farm conventions, I ran into some farmers with a pumpkin patch in Minnesota. They were a gruff old bunch, all bearded and taunted me as a 'soft Mid-Atlantic Boy' throughout the convention. I had had about enough, so I asked, "What makes you so tough up in the Land of Little Sodas anyway?" "Ice fishing.…

15 Mar 2022

“You might be tired of it.” – Energy Growth Part 1 of 3

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

$175 a day to sleep in the stroller:-) "You might be tired of it." Life is really a game of energy management. Have you ever experienced a time when... You went on vacation but found yourself too tired to do anything?You were working on a new idea and lost track of time into the wee hours?You had to put on a happy face to get through a child's birthday party?You were firing on all cylinders all day and came home refreshed from all the action, still not tired?You found everything exhausting, even the good things around you, and you couldn't wait…

02 Mar 2022

“Activate the 5 Senses” – What I learned at NAFDMA Part 3 of 3

Agritourism, Maize Quest Corn Maze & Fun Park, Marketing Tools, Seasonal Business

Super practical for this final NAFDMA follow-up blog today! I was a presenter in the "Events Panel" and came away with one of the most valuable models from my fellow presenter, Jenny Ferels. It's so fun to see how our presentation as a panel came together. Hugh - The big picture: Should you choose to do this event? What are your goals? What does success look like in real numbers and actions by guests? Is what you propose an event, or is it an attraction or activity? Jen - Model for structuring an event you have chosen to do using Hugh's criteria. Actual templates for modeling…

22 Feb 2022

“Hope is not a strategy” What I learned at NAFDMA pt 2 of 3

Agritourism, Family Business, Seasonal Business

Lee Rubin on stage at NAFDMA with the 5 C's of Building High Performing Teams dropped a quote that stuck with me. It is shocking how little we actually know. It is unbelievable how little it takes for us to believe. As you consider all the uncertainty in the world, you should be suspicious of incredibly certain people. In his keynote speech, Lee Rubin warned us that "Hope is not a strategy." As the tide of information overload rises, there is increasing pressure to relieve the stress of uncertainty in our lives in whatever way we can. Don't like her idea? She's dumb.Don't like his politics? He's a tool for…

15 Feb 2022

“Connective Tissue” What I learned at NAFDMA pt 1 of 3

Agritourism, Family Business, Seasonal Business

Did you get to ride the Mini-SuperMegaSlide in the booth?! Many dared and most survived at the NAFDMA Expo - Biggest ever?! What a convention. NAFDMA in person was a wild ride of a family-reunion-dance-rave-business-masterclass-dinner-party with some of my favorite people in the world. Someone asked, "Why is NAFDMA so different?" My answer was the structure of the convention that has been in place since my first convention waaaaaaaaay back in 2000. Put the Bus Tour first. The Bus Tour allows a huge convention to shrink first from 600 to 55, then to the people next to you. You are immersed with your Bus Group at…

02 Feb 2022

A run, a funeral, a dinner, a birthday

Agritourism, Family Business, Seasonal Business

I started running again once my son joined cross-country, but he'll brow-beat me if I run indoors on the treadmill. The run. The night before, the night before. I laid out my Hokas, hat, and gloves by the door; my shorts, compression shirt, reflective shirt, and socks on the floor of my closet. Off to sleep. 5:58 AM. The alarm goes off, stumble to my feet, everything assembled goes on and off to the kitchen. I fumble around making breakfast. Cracking eggs, sizzling breakfast meat, load the plates, then they go in the microwave - safe from the kitties - because you…

12 Jan 2022

6 flights canceled, 20 hours of driving, two special girls.

Agritourism, Family Business, Seasonal Business

Minutes after this picture, the Illinois wind blew my little rental car into the left hand lane, luckily no one else was there! "I have class tomorrow!" It was all planned out. I would take my daughter back to school, out for groceries, unload her into the apartment to which she now refers (marginally hurtfully as it may be) as "home." It was halfway to my speaking gig at the Illinois Specialty Growers conference, so with a few connecting flights - no big deal. ...until Tuesday morning. Thirty-five minutes before we departed for the airport, the first flight cancelation dinged through my phone. Rebooking, canceled, my…

14 Dec 2021

“You might have already won.” Lessons from 2021 – Part 4 of 4

Agritourism, Seasonal Business

Our year end blog journey looked like this:Part 1: I was completely right, for once.Pricing ahead of inflation due to value creation realized by your audience. You simply must charge what the experience you create is worth! Those who did, and ignored the few, loud critics, profited well this season.Part 2: The un-timely (timely) death of novelty.The public is a desperately hungry, novelty-seeking beast that will stop at nothing to find something new and then brag about their finding thereof. Feed 'NEW' to them.Part 3: Intensify the experience.More might not be the answer if you can give more intense experiences…