August 11, 2023 • 19 mins
Strategic planning is critical for any organization to thrive in an ever-changing world. To gain insight into developing an effective strategic plan, we recently sat down with Mike Carter, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Strategy at Nationwide Insurance. Carter, who helped guide the Farm Bureau through its own strategic planning process, shared his expertise at the organization's Agricultural Summit in Syracuse. In this podcast episode, Carter explains what strategic planning entails, why it's important, and how to approach the process. Tune in to hear practical tips that any organization can apply to position itself for future success.
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(00:00):
If your farm or business doesn't have a roadmap, how do you know where it's going?
(00:05):
Well, you don't. But we're going to help you get to where you need to go in this edition of News Bites.
Hi, I'm Steve Ammerman, New York Farm Bureau's Director of Communications.
New York Farm Bureau has been a leading voice in this state for more than a century,
but like any organization, we can't rest on our laurels. So a few years ago, the state board and
the staff embarked on a strategic plan to develop organizational goals and a strategy on how to
(00:28):
achieve them. We were helped along the way by Nationwide Insurance's Assistant Vice President
for Corporate Strategy, Mike Carter. Mike's structure, skills, and attitude were really
valuable to our organization, which is why we invited him to speak at New York Farm Bureau's
recent Agricultural Summit in Syracuse. He kicked off the event by helping the members and the
agribusinesses and organizational leaders who were all in the room best position themselves
(00:52):
for future growth. But before the summit started, we actually sat down with Mike to get a better
understanding of strategic planning, why it's important, and what to be prepared for.
All right, Mike. So you're here to talk to our members about strategic planning and really help
them get their sights set on the future. And, you know, this is part of what you do at Nationwide,
(01:14):
is strategic planning. So talk a little bit about your role and what you do for Nationwide.
Yeah. So I'm one of our strategy leaders within our corporate strategy office. So what that looks
like is six of us face off against our business leaders and our staff office leaders. So think
our life insurance business, auto business, and in some cases, our staff office, our marketing,
(01:40):
our technology leaders. So we support them with anything from a one to a three-year planning
process or any troubleshooting that they might have within their shop. It's really critical to
the mission of Nationwide in any business. So what is it that you enjoy about helping set that stage
and that plan? I like the problem-solving part. A lot of folks come into either consulting or
(02:05):
strategy to help solve problems. They're good problem solvers. What I specifically like the
most is digging in. And there's always a turning point in any planning process where folks
go from either being confused or they were dragged into the room to start this process.
(02:28):
And at some point, it turns and they get invested in the process. They start to enjoy it. They see
the things that we're talking about are real to them and real to the future of their organization.
Nat, So let's dig into that. What is then strategic planning? How do you see it and what are those
(02:51):
starting points? Nat, Well, I think first of all, just definitions-wise, people often get just the
term strategy. It kind of gets floated around and get attached to everything. For us, we keep it
really simple. It's just an approach to achieve a goal. That's kind of rule number one is let's be
clear about the definitions. And so when we start throwing around things like strategic planning,
(03:15):
it's a plan to achieve a goal. And so that process starts with what's the goal. We tend to not go
any further than three years out. I like to say anything beyond three years is stuff you're making
up. So three years, we have a pretty good idea of what that might look like. And so we can plan for
that. Sometimes it's setting the goal and then working backwards. That's one way of doing it.
(03:38):
Sometimes we'll find like where are we at today and then what's just naturally the next step and
the next step of the plan. Nat, So and that plan really can... Or really what strategic planning can
mean can depend on that individual business or farm or organization because what may be good for one
(03:59):
entity isn't going to be good for another. So how is it about finding just that fit of what kind of
plan and how to develop that plan? Nat, Some of it is how mature the business is or how mature that
organization is. If the leader is a new leader, if they're a veteran, how new their team is as well.
Is this a new... Is this maybe a veteran leader with a new team and he or she are trying to bring
(04:23):
them along? If it's a new leader, that's usually a completely different approach because a lot of
times they're trying to maybe find their footing or set a vision for where they want this organization
to go in the future. And so some of that is just getting set up with them early in the process of
what is it that you're trying to achieve and how can I help you facilitate through that process of
(04:46):
getting your teams aligned on what you think the vision of this organization is and then set out,
in this case, a three-year plan to go achieve it. Nat, So let's go back to some of those additional
steps. After you have that goal, you say, this is what we want to accomplish in the next two to three
years. What are some of those procedural steps that organization can take to start developing
(05:11):
that plan and coming up with a framework that people can buy into? Nat, Usually it starts with
some version of whether it's a mission or a vision statement or just a statement that says,
what do you want to be when you grow up? What's the aspiration for this organization? I guess
that's why a minute ago I was talking about being clear on definitions because strategy and
(05:38):
aspirations are not the same thing. And a lot of times people will confuse those or they'll confuse
strategy and aspirations with a financial plan or the budget. And those things are not all the same.
They work together, but they're not the same. And so depending on the size of your organization,
sometimes those things can be conflated. And usually that adds to the confusion of the people
(06:00):
who are in the room trying to work through it and create a plan. But that's step one is make sure
that we know what do we want to be when we grow up? What are the aspirations for this organization?
And then figuring out if it's a business, is the business plan solid? Who are your customers? How
are you reaching those customers? What are you selling to those customers? Is it a product? Is
(06:22):
it a service? Is it something else? And then once you get through some of those basics,
is there a problem with the way that we've been doing it? Is there some course correction that
we need to do? Do we need more resources aimed at the problem, at supporting the business?
And then when you get through that process of we have enough people, we have enough funding,
(06:45):
we have enough technology to support the operation, then it's just a matter of figuring out,
all right, me as a manager, what do I need to make sure that this shop runs effectively?
Do I need to do goal setting? Do I need to have monthly check-ins with my team?
Are we making good progress? Those are the foundational pieces.
Marc Thiessen And for someone who may be new to the process,
(07:06):
maybe like, that sounds like a lot. That sounds daunting. And you don't want someone to get
overwhelmed by thinking too much too soon, because it really is about taking steps. So how do you try
and keep it where people aren't too scared to want to take on something like this?
Jason Sweeney I think the easiest thing is to chop it up.
(07:27):
We typically will do, in that case, let's call it five steps. We might do this over five different
sessions. We might do it over a couple of different sessions to say, all right, today we're only gonna
solve for the, what do we wanna be when we grow up problem. Let's have discussion. Let's get the
paper out. Let's get the sticky notes out. And let's talk about what are your dreams? What are
(07:50):
your aspirations? What do you think this organization can be? And then move on to the next step.
If in that next step, you have discussion like, you know what, the thing we talked about yesterday
or last week or last month, I don't think I agree with that anymore. It's okay to go back, right?
It's actually part of the process is you're revalidating. Every time you take a step forward,
(08:10):
you're validating the things that you said last time. And so if you get to a certain point and
you find, you know what, that customer group that we thought we wanted to go after, I don't think
that the way that we wanna run this business, I don't think that that works anymore. It's okay
to go back and say, all right, if that won't work, who is the customer group that will work for us?
Who will work for our operation? And then just again, continue to chop it up, make progress.
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It's okay to take a step back as long as you're taking two steps forward, right? And eventually,
you get there. It's a simple process, but it takes a little bit of time to get there.
Nat, No one has a crystal ball and knows exactly what's gonna happen in the next three years.
Nat, Yeah.
Nat, Does the planning process consider what ifs?
Nat, It has to.
Nat, Yeah.
Nat, It has to. So along each step of the way, you're thinking about, well, what if this does
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happen? What if this doesn't happen? There's a little bit of what's the risk to the plan. And so
either at each step or even when you get to the end, you can say, all right, well, what's the
financial risk if this doesn't go well? What's the operational risk if this doesn't go well?
What happens strategically if we set ourselves on a path and in six months that path disappears?
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Nat, Or the customer group that we thought was that this product was gonna resonate with,
no one's buying it. What happens then? Do you have a plan B? And so that's a lot of what we work on.
A minute ago, I called it problem-solving, but sometimes that's what it is. You get down the
path and you figure out that's not exactly the way that we intended it to work. And so we do
(09:49):
some problem-solving, all right? What's wrong about it? Is it a product that's just not
selling the way we thought? Is it priced correctly? Is the customer group the right one? Is the
vendor or the distribution channel the right one? Those are all things that we can take a look at
and course correct if we need to.
Nat So we've talked a lot about things to do as part of the process. What are some things not to
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do or any pitfalls to be aware of when you're all getting together to come up with this new strategic
plan?
Matt There's a few. I would say the first one is to assume that you're gonna get it done in one day.
That's never gonna happen, right? So we talked a little bit about the process. Even for folks who
are seasoned at this, who have done it multiple times, it just takes time. I think another
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pitfall is assuming that everyone's gonna be on board. That is actually rarer than the case
in my experience. There's always gonna be someone who has a different opinion. And so
if you're not taking the time to listen to the opinions is a pitfall because it's gonna come
back to bite you later in the process where whether that's, and I told you so, maybe down the line,
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or it's a, we're really counting on you to get this part done, but I'm not bought in. So I'm only
gonna give you 50%. Those are, I would call the major pitfalls of the process.
Nat It's really important because you help New York Farm Bureau develop a strategic plan.
With our state board of directors and our staff a couple of years ago. And one of the final steps
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up that was how are we gonna talk about the strategic plan? Because you do want people,
if people aren't going to buy into it or be supportive of it, that can really derail a
strategic plan. So having that communications piece and listening, like you said, but also
on how to effectively talk about the plan is very important. That's right.
(11:43):
Nat That's right. And I would say one of the things to do is make sure people are involved.
So you're listening to voices, you're making sure that the people that matter are involved
in the process, you're listening to their ideas, they're being heard, they felt heard.
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When you come in, a lot of times kind of top, we'll call it top down and say,
here's the plan, right? And you kind of slap it on the desk and get ready, let's go. That
rarely works well. Bringing folks along from day one, letting them know, hey, we're gonna
work on this. And these are the pieces, these are the steps that we're gonna follow. These
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are the discussions that we wanna have. We want open dialogue, we want open discussion,
we want your opinions. One of the things that can be done is to be able to talk to people
can go wrong then is folks feel like they've offered their opinions. And then many times
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those things are never acted upon. So I don't know if they've put that into the category of pitfalls,
but I've been involved in so many sessions where we get a brainstorming session, we get
pages and pages of notes, and then sometimes those ideas don't go anywhere. And so if I was
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the person who finally got the courage up to raise my voice and say, hey, I think we need to do
something about this. And then that just stays on a sticky note or in someone's notebook and we never
do anything with it, that can be disengaging for me. I finally got my courage up, right? And you
didn't do anything with it. If at least you say, Mike, that was a great idea, or maybe Mike, that
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was a terrible idea, right? So we're not gonna do something with that or there was a different way
that we solved for your idea. At least I know that you did something with it, not that you took my
thing and just kind of let it on the side.
You just want to be recognized and listened to. Whether or not there's agreement, that's one thing,
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but you still wanna be heard, and that's important.
And when you're involving executives in this process, there's a lot of egos that go along
with that. And so if I'm an executive that's been in an organization for 10, 20, 25 years, and you're
not listening to my opinion, that can rub people the wrong way.
So now the plan is done, the plan is on the table. People have talked about it, they're buying into
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it. Then what happens? Obviously, you gotta carry out this plan. You gotta follow through.
You gotta follow through. I think we talked about this with the Farm Bureau, that execution, great
execution will trump any great plan. And so even a good plan, well executed is better than a great
plan, either not executed, of course, or medium, we'll call it medium executed. So execution is
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what it's all about. If you have great ideas and you don't do anything with them, you wasted your
time. So first and foremost, you need to assign ownership. Sometimes we talk about one throat to
choke. Someone has to be in charge of that thing that becomes part of the plan. You get one person
to own it, and then they're responsible for it. They have to decide what are the things that are
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gonna happen. And in a way, they're doing the same exact planning steps that you just did at a more
granular level. It's what's the plan that I'm gonna do over the next weeks or months to deliver on
this thing, call it whatever it is. Who are the people that I need? What's the funding that I need
to get it done? Do I have a plan to do those things? And do I have a plan to check in? Again,
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if it's a one throat to choke situation, I'm responsible for getting this done. And so
that is, I would say, another important part of the step.
Nat, which is what we have been doing at New York Farm Bureau, Liz, our CEO, just the regular
check-ins with the staff, the division managers, obviously the state board who lead the organization.
And it's also why you're here right now. Not only are you gonna be talking to our members at
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the Ag Summit, but you're also gonna be talking to our board and really just do that check-in,
which is very important because it does, it keeps you on track and you gotta do that if you're gonna
be successful.
Absolutely. So at Nationwide, each of our businesses check in with our board once a year.
That looks a little bit different depending on the business and where they're at in terms
of their business health. But we do that. We're a Fortune 100 company. We're going through the same
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process. Here's where we're at in terms of our business. Here's where we're going. Here's what
we think the next year, two, three look like. And what questions do you have? Let's talk about it
so we can make sure everyone is on board.
Ultimately, how do you gauge a successful plan? Is it just being able to check all the boxes
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that was in that plan? How do you know if, yeah, we did a good job and it's worked?
Profit is the easy answer. No, it depends on how you define success. And so for, we'll say for
like a nonprofit organization whose goal is maybe gaining members, providing value to those members,
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the way that you would define success is probably different than you would for a bank or for a
manufacturing company. Those companies may define success in a different way. Sometimes organizations
get bogged down in the, did we hit our sales number? Did we hit our profit number? Those things
are nice, but those are signs that you're doing the right things and making the right choices.
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Healthy employees is another way that we tend to measure success. Are we engaging our employees
in the right way? Are we running the shop in the right way? Those are all different ways that we
can gauge, are we doing the right things as an organization?
And what I like about this is that, I mean, this is something that every organization
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should think about and do. It doesn't matter if you're nationwide and have thousands of employees
or through New York Farm Bureau or you're a startup company with just two people. It's all about
thinking about the future and trying to be forward as a company or else you can be left behind.
So I think you're right on. So in my 20 years of business consulting,
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it's all the same. Every time you meet a client, they'll tell you that it's different,
but it's all the same. There's two problems in business, revenue and costs. If you can
solve for those two things, you're well ahead of most people.
If you can get to the point where you're making good plans and checking in and having that
diligence, that discipline as an organization to say, here's where we wanna go, here are the steps
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that are gonna get us there and we're gonna be checking in, 99% of your competitors aren't doing
that. And so you immediately have a leg up on that.
Thank you very much, Mike.
Thank you.
Thanks a lot, Mike. It really was a great learning experience. It gave everyone
a lot to think about because regardless of your career choices or what you do,
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having a pathway forward is needed for any job or business. Also, this summit has set the stage for
New York Farm Bureau's upcoming state convention. It's gonna be held December 4th through the 6th
in Tarrytown, New York. We're gonna have much more coming up about that on future episodes of
News Bites. I'd like to thank Seth Moser-Katz for editing today's podcast. And if you like what you
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heard, make sure to let others know about it and also give us a positive review. And until next
time, make sure to thank a farmer for all that they do.
If your farm or business doesn't have a roadmap, how do you know where it's going?
(00:05):
Well, you don't. But we're going to help you get to where you need to go in this edition of News Bites.
Hi, I'm Steve Ammerman, New York Farm Bureau's Director of Communications.
New York Farm Bureau has been a leading voice in this state for more than a century,
but like any organization, we can't rest on our laurels. So a few years ago, the state board and
the staff embarked on a strategic plan to develop organizational goals and a strategy on how to
(00:28):
achieve them. We were helped along the way by Nationwide Insurance's Assistant Vice President
for Corporate Strategy, Mike Carter. Mike's structure, skills, and attitude were really
valuable to our organization, which is why we invited him to speak at New York Farm Bureau's
recent Agricultural Summit in Syracuse. He kicked off the event by helping the members and the
agribusinesses and organizational leaders who were all in the room best position themselves
(00:52):
for future growth. But before the summit started, we actually sat down with Mike to get a better
understanding of strategic planning, why it's important, and what to be prepared for.
All right, Mike. So you're here to talk to our members about strategic planning and really help
them get their sights set on the future. And, you know, this is part of what you do at Nationwide,
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is strategic planning. So talk a little bit about your role and what you do for Nationwide.
Yeah. So I'm one of our strategy leaders within our corporate strategy office. So what that looks
like is six of us face off against our business leaders and our staff office leaders. So think
our life insurance business, auto business, and in some cases, our staff office, our marketing,
(01:40):
our technology leaders. So we support them with anything from a one to a three-year planning
process or any troubleshooting that they might have within their shop. It's really critical to
the mission of Nationwide in any business. So what is it that you enjoy about helping set that stage
and that plan? I like the problem-solving part. A lot of folks come into either consulting or
(02:05):
strategy to help solve problems. They're good problem solvers. What I specifically like the
most is digging in. And there's always a turning point in any planning process where folks
go from either being confused or they were dragged into the room to start this process.
(02:28):
And at some point, it turns and they get invested in the process. They start to enjoy it. They see
the things that we're talking about are real to them and real to the future of their organization.
Nat, So let's dig into that. What is then strategic planning? How do you see it and what are those
(02:51):
starting points? Nat, Well, I think first of all, just definitions-wise, people often get just the
term strategy. It kind of gets floated around and get attached to everything. For us, we keep it
really simple. It's just an approach to achieve a goal. That's kind of rule number one is let's be
clear about the definitions. And so when we start throwing around things like strategic planning,
(03:15):
it's a plan to achieve a goal. And so that process starts with what's the goal. We tend to not go
any further than three years out. I like to say anything beyond three years is stuff you're making
up. So three years, we have a pretty good idea of what that might look like. And so we can plan for
that. Sometimes it's setting the goal and then working backwards. That's one way of doing it.
(03:38):
Sometimes we'll find like where are we at today and then what's just naturally the next step and
the next step of the plan. Nat, So and that plan really can... Or really what strategic planning can
mean can depend on that individual business or farm or organization because what may be good for one
(03:59):
entity isn't going to be good for another. So how is it about finding just that fit of what kind of
plan and how to develop that plan? Nat, Some of it is how mature the business is or how mature that
organization is. If the leader is a new leader, if they're a veteran, how new their team is as well.
Is this a new... Is this maybe a veteran leader with a new team and he or she are trying to bring
(04:23):
them along? If it's a new leader, that's usually a completely different approach because a lot of
times they're trying to maybe find their footing or set a vision for where they want this organization
to go in the future. And so some of that is just getting set up with them early in the process of
what is it that you're trying to achieve and how can I help you facilitate through that process of
(04:46):
getting your teams aligned on what you think the vision of this organization is and then set out,
in this case, a three-year plan to go achieve it. Nat, So let's go back to some of those additional
steps. After you have that goal, you say, this is what we want to accomplish in the next two to three
years. What are some of those procedural steps that organization can take to start developing
(05:11):
that plan and coming up with a framework that people can buy into? Nat, Usually it starts with
some version of whether it's a mission or a vision statement or just a statement that says,
what do you want to be when you grow up? What's the aspiration for this organization? I guess
that's why a minute ago I was talking about being clear on definitions because strategy and
(05:38):
aspirations are not the same thing. And a lot of times people will confuse those or they'll confuse
strategy and aspirations with a financial plan or the budget. And those things are not all the same.
They work together, but they're not the same. And so depending on the size of your organization,
sometimes those things can be conflated. And usually that adds to the confusion of the people
(06:00):
who are in the room trying to work through it and create a plan. But that's step one is make sure
that we know what do we want to be when we grow up? What are the aspirations for this organization?
And then figuring out if it's a business, is the business plan solid? Who are your customers? How
are you reaching those customers? What are you selling to those customers? Is it a product? Is
(06:22):
it a service? Is it something else? And then once you get through some of those basics,
is there a problem with the way that we've been doing it? Is there some course correction that
we need to do? Do we need more resources aimed at the problem, at supporting the business?
And then when you get through that process of we have enough people, we have enough funding,
(06:45):
we have enough technology to support the operation, then it's just a matter of figuring out,
all right, me as a manager, what do I need to make sure that this shop runs effectively?
Do I need to do goal setting? Do I need to have monthly check-ins with my team?
Are we making good progress? Those are the foundational pieces.
Marc Thiessen And for someone who may be new to the process,
(07:06):
maybe like, that sounds like a lot. That sounds daunting. And you don't want someone to get
overwhelmed by thinking too much too soon, because it really is about taking steps. So how do you try
and keep it where people aren't too scared to want to take on something like this?
Jason Sweeney I think the easiest thing is to chop it up.
(07:27):
We typically will do, in that case, let's call it five steps. We might do this over five different
sessions. We might do it over a couple of different sessions to say, all right, today we're only gonna
solve for the, what do we wanna be when we grow up problem. Let's have discussion. Let's get the
paper out. Let's get the sticky notes out. And let's talk about what are your dreams? What are
(07:50):
your aspirations? What do you think this organization can be? And then move on to the next step.
If in that next step, you have discussion like, you know what, the thing we talked about yesterday
or last week or last month, I don't think I agree with that anymore. It's okay to go back, right?
It's actually part of the process is you're revalidating. Every time you take a step forward,
(08:10):
you're validating the things that you said last time. And so if you get to a certain point and
you find, you know what, that customer group that we thought we wanted to go after, I don't think
that the way that we wanna run this business, I don't think that that works anymore. It's okay
to go back and say, all right, if that won't work, who is the customer group that will work for us?
Who will work for our operation? And then just again, continue to chop it up, make progress.
(08:36):
It's okay to take a step back as long as you're taking two steps forward, right? And eventually,
you get there. It's a simple process, but it takes a little bit of time to get there.
Nat, No one has a crystal ball and knows exactly what's gonna happen in the next three years.
Nat, Yeah.
Nat, Does the planning process consider what ifs?
Nat, It has to.
Nat, Yeah.
Nat, It has to. So along each step of the way, you're thinking about, well, what if this does
(09:01):
happen? What if this doesn't happen? There's a little bit of what's the risk to the plan. And so
either at each step or even when you get to the end, you can say, all right, well, what's the
financial risk if this doesn't go well? What's the operational risk if this doesn't go well?
What happens strategically if we set ourselves on a path and in six months that path disappears?
(09:24):
Nat, Or the customer group that we thought was that this product was gonna resonate with,
no one's buying it. What happens then? Do you have a plan B? And so that's a lot of what we work on.
A minute ago, I called it problem-solving, but sometimes that's what it is. You get down the
path and you figure out that's not exactly the way that we intended it to work. And so we do
(09:49):
some problem-solving, all right? What's wrong about it? Is it a product that's just not
selling the way we thought? Is it priced correctly? Is the customer group the right one? Is the
vendor or the distribution channel the right one? Those are all things that we can take a look at
and course correct if we need to.
Nat So we've talked a lot about things to do as part of the process. What are some things not to
(10:13):
do or any pitfalls to be aware of when you're all getting together to come up with this new strategic
plan?
Matt There's a few. I would say the first one is to assume that you're gonna get it done in one day.
That's never gonna happen, right? So we talked a little bit about the process. Even for folks who
are seasoned at this, who have done it multiple times, it just takes time. I think another
(10:38):
pitfall is assuming that everyone's gonna be on board. That is actually rarer than the case
in my experience. There's always gonna be someone who has a different opinion. And so
if you're not taking the time to listen to the opinions is a pitfall because it's gonna come
back to bite you later in the process where whether that's, and I told you so, maybe down the line,
(10:58):
or it's a, we're really counting on you to get this part done, but I'm not bought in. So I'm only
gonna give you 50%. Those are, I would call the major pitfalls of the process.
Nat It's really important because you help New York Farm Bureau develop a strategic plan.
With our state board of directors and our staff a couple of years ago. And one of the final steps
(11:22):
up that was how are we gonna talk about the strategic plan? Because you do want people,
if people aren't going to buy into it or be supportive of it, that can really derail a
strategic plan. So having that communications piece and listening, like you said, but also
on how to effectively talk about the plan is very important. That's right.
(11:43):
Nat That's right. And I would say one of the things to do is make sure people are involved.
So you're listening to voices, you're making sure that the people that matter are involved
in the process, you're listening to their ideas, they're being heard, they felt heard.
(12:04):
When you come in, a lot of times kind of top, we'll call it top down and say,
here's the plan, right? And you kind of slap it on the desk and get ready, let's go. That
rarely works well. Bringing folks along from day one, letting them know, hey, we're gonna
work on this. And these are the pieces, these are the steps that we're gonna follow. These
(12:26):
are the discussions that we wanna have. We want open dialogue, we want open discussion,
we want your opinions. One of the things that can be done is to be able to talk to people
can go wrong then is folks feel like they've offered their opinions. And then many times
(12:46):
those things are never acted upon. So I don't know if they've put that into the category of pitfalls,
but I've been involved in so many sessions where we get a brainstorming session, we get
pages and pages of notes, and then sometimes those ideas don't go anywhere. And so if I was
(13:06):
the person who finally got the courage up to raise my voice and say, hey, I think we need to do
something about this. And then that just stays on a sticky note or in someone's notebook and we never
do anything with it, that can be disengaging for me. I finally got my courage up, right? And you
didn't do anything with it. If at least you say, Mike, that was a great idea, or maybe Mike, that
(13:28):
was a terrible idea, right? So we're not gonna do something with that or there was a different way
that we solved for your idea. At least I know that you did something with it, not that you took my
thing and just kind of let it on the side.
You just want to be recognized and listened to. Whether or not there's agreement, that's one thing,
(13:50):
but you still wanna be heard, and that's important.
And when you're involving executives in this process, there's a lot of egos that go along
with that. And so if I'm an executive that's been in an organization for 10, 20, 25 years, and you're
not listening to my opinion, that can rub people the wrong way.
So now the plan is done, the plan is on the table. People have talked about it, they're buying into
(14:17):
it. Then what happens? Obviously, you gotta carry out this plan. You gotta follow through.
You gotta follow through. I think we talked about this with the Farm Bureau, that execution, great
execution will trump any great plan. And so even a good plan, well executed is better than a great
plan, either not executed, of course, or medium, we'll call it medium executed. So execution is
(14:41):
what it's all about. If you have great ideas and you don't do anything with them, you wasted your
time. So first and foremost, you need to assign ownership. Sometimes we talk about one throat to
choke. Someone has to be in charge of that thing that becomes part of the plan. You get one person
to own it, and then they're responsible for it. They have to decide what are the things that are
(15:05):
gonna happen. And in a way, they're doing the same exact planning steps that you just did at a more
granular level. It's what's the plan that I'm gonna do over the next weeks or months to deliver on
this thing, call it whatever it is. Who are the people that I need? What's the funding that I need
to get it done? Do I have a plan to do those things? And do I have a plan to check in? Again,
(15:28):
if it's a one throat to choke situation, I'm responsible for getting this done. And so
that is, I would say, another important part of the step.
Nat, which is what we have been doing at New York Farm Bureau, Liz, our CEO, just the regular
check-ins with the staff, the division managers, obviously the state board who lead the organization.
And it's also why you're here right now. Not only are you gonna be talking to our members at
(15:53):
the Ag Summit, but you're also gonna be talking to our board and really just do that check-in,
which is very important because it does, it keeps you on track and you gotta do that if you're gonna
be successful.
Absolutely. So at Nationwide, each of our businesses check in with our board once a year.
That looks a little bit different depending on the business and where they're at in terms
of their business health. But we do that. We're a Fortune 100 company. We're going through the same
(16:17):
process. Here's where we're at in terms of our business. Here's where we're going. Here's what
we think the next year, two, three look like. And what questions do you have? Let's talk about it
so we can make sure everyone is on board.
Ultimately, how do you gauge a successful plan? Is it just being able to check all the boxes
(16:38):
that was in that plan? How do you know if, yeah, we did a good job and it's worked?
Profit is the easy answer. No, it depends on how you define success. And so for, we'll say for
like a nonprofit organization whose goal is maybe gaining members, providing value to those members,
(16:59):
the way that you would define success is probably different than you would for a bank or for a
manufacturing company. Those companies may define success in a different way. Sometimes organizations
get bogged down in the, did we hit our sales number? Did we hit our profit number? Those things
are nice, but those are signs that you're doing the right things and making the right choices.
(17:22):
Healthy employees is another way that we tend to measure success. Are we engaging our employees
in the right way? Are we running the shop in the right way? Those are all different ways that we
can gauge, are we doing the right things as an organization?
And what I like about this is that, I mean, this is something that every organization
(17:43):
should think about and do. It doesn't matter if you're nationwide and have thousands of employees
or through New York Farm Bureau or you're a startup company with just two people. It's all about
thinking about the future and trying to be forward as a company or else you can be left behind.
So I think you're right on. So in my 20 years of business consulting,
(18:08):
it's all the same. Every time you meet a client, they'll tell you that it's different,
but it's all the same. There's two problems in business, revenue and costs. If you can
solve for those two things, you're well ahead of most people.
If you can get to the point where you're making good plans and checking in and having that
diligence, that discipline as an organization to say, here's where we wanna go, here are the steps
(18:32):
that are gonna get us there and we're gonna be checking in, 99% of your competitors aren't doing
that. And so you immediately have a leg up on that.
Thank you very much, Mike.
Thank you.
Thanks a lot, Mike. It really was a great learning experience. It gave everyone
a lot to think about because regardless of your career choices or what you do,
(18:54):
having a pathway forward is needed for any job or business. Also, this summit has set the stage for
New York Farm Bureau's upcoming state convention. It's gonna be held December 4th through the 6th
in Tarrytown, New York. We're gonna have much more coming up about that on future episodes of
News Bites. I'd like to thank Seth Moser-Katz for editing today's podcast. And if you like what you
(19:16):
heard, make sure to let others know about it and also give us a positive review. And until next
time, make sure to thank a farmer for all that they do.
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