Hey Gang,
It really hits me at the end of the year. It’s that momentous feeling of time passing, of a cycle being completed, of one more crack at the bat, of a closing or ending.
In our Fall-focused businesses, November is clean-up and recovery, December is recuperating and family time, and the week between Christmas and New Year’s, for me, is reflection, so this blog is the “beginning of the end.”
Duke Ellington said, “I don’t need time, I need a deadline.”
New Year’s is an elegant deadline. It’s built into our calendar, into the cycle of life. I’ve always been a future-focused person, but in this final week of the year, I get nostalgic for looking back through the year.
- Did I get anything done? Not that I didn’t work hard each day, but did I move the business forward?
- Was I innovative? Did I try something new?
- Who did I encourage or celebrate?
- Did I build up my family members? Did I help them grow?
- Did I learn anything, or am I doing the same things?
Terri Savelle Foy says to add, “…and that’s just the way I like it.” to the end of your phrases because it changes the meaning so profoundly – try it out…
- “My teenagers don’t want to talk to me…and that’s just the way I like it.”
- “My business isn’t growing…and that’s just the way I like it.”
- “I’ve really let myself go…and that’s just the way I like it.”
- “My wife and I don’t spend enough time together…and that’s just the way I like it.”
In this last week of the year, I go “internal” when I write lists:
- All my WINS from the year: special family moments, the kids’ milestones, epic trips and adventures, business successes, miles run, everything.
- All my FRUSTRATIONS from this past year: business, family dynamics, personal goals, physical goals, deaths of loved ones.
Just this ONE act of writing it ALL out helps with the processing. You’ll see lots of frustration, but they seem to group themselves naturally. Those frustrations might find a common deficiency in your training or software or modus operandi, your way of operating or behaving.
Years ago, I found that most of my problems came from “working with idiots.” I was sure that every staffer I hired was an idiot, incompetent, and couldn’t be taught what to do, and it was driving me insane.
As it turned out, I was the problem. I treated everyone so poorly that they lived up to my expectations. My training system was so bad, so wildly deficient, that it was no wonder the staff was failing! Once I realized so much of the problem was coming from me, I could fix it.
That was the start of what became our Agritourism Manager Bootcamp program. ATMB took a massive investment of time and energy to complete, but it solved not one but an enormous set of problems and frustrations and enabled us to grow as staff training and morale skyrocketed. (Learn more about ATMB here)
So, what will it be this year? What’s the needle-moving to eliminate frustrations? What were the big wins this season?
Here are a few starters from the list:
- Our cherry season has always been a slow start with not much else going on and its revenue has languished…and that’s just how I like it.”
Ouch, it sounds like I’ve got some work to do on Cherry Season because I DON’T like it that way; it just always HAS BEEN that way.
- Sunflower Festival has decreased in revenue in the past two years…and that’s just the way I like it.
Ouch, it’s time to freshen things up because it’s still a good event. We’ll be staffing it anyway, and it drives peach season traffic.
Just as Sunflower Festivals exploded back in 2018-2021 because they were new, fresh, and novel, we need to invest brain-power and time in reimagining the entire event. There is likely nothing more profitability-efficient than moving the needle on these two events because all the cherry trees and festival infrastructure is in place. We have the leverage to re-grow both.
Spotting these two key leverage points in our business frustrations from the year isn’t rocket science. It’s simply a willingness to deal with the reality discovered through self & business reflection.
“We deal with reality sooner or later, so it might as well be now.”
– Hugh McPherson
Are you willing to take a look back at the wins and frustrations of 2024 as we inevitably come to the beginning of the end of another year?
We’d love to hear what you find on your wins and frustrations lists. Drop us an email or schedule a call.
As you travel to NAFDMA and other conferences, I’d challenge you to chat less about the weather and “% you were up or down” with fellow attendees and share more from your lists to get outside ideas and feedback.
More from “the end” next week!
Hope you and your family enjoyed Christmas or other holidays and are planning to ring the New Year in with friends,
Hugh
