Reading Time: 4 minutes Over the last four years Ontario organic farmer and consultant David Cohlmeyer has completed over 20 business plans for smaller and medium-sized farms. But before doing a business plan, with updated budget, balance sheets, marketing plans and cash flow statements, Cohlmeyer works with the clients to do a SWOT analysis. “It’s a tool, a good […] Read more
Small SWOT, big ideas
Summer Business: This exercise to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be a best next step for smaller farms
Guide HR: A question of charisma
Good leaders seem special. It’s a talent you can grow
Reading Time: 3 minutes People with charisma stand out. It’s a trait that we associate with leadership — that something special that makes an individual seem exceptional. But it turns out that charisma has little to do with good looks, wealth, titles or authority, and although it can seem that individuals with charisma must have inherited it at their […] Read more
Financial analysis and planning
AME Management: These examples show how standardized financial statements can be a powerful source of insight into your operational management
Reading Time: 3 minutes Past columns in this space addressed aspects of strategic planning and financial management. Experience suggests that their close connection is not always recognized by managers. The intent of this column is to show how financial ratios can affect strategic direction and help focus on plans. The Planning Model We follow Harvard strategist, Michael Porter and […] Read more
Guide HR: Why are true leaders rare?
Reading Time: 3 minutes If given a choice, would you prefer to be seen as a results-focused leader, or as a leader with exceptional social skills? In short, do you prefer to cultivate strong analytical skills, are you highly motivated to reach goals, do you have initiative, and are you focused on exceptional delivery of results and effective problem […] Read more
Farmers finding a competitive edge with leadership training
Across the country, more farmers are signing up for in-depth leadership training, and they’re using it to transform the way they farm and do business
Reading Time: 7 minutes There’s a saying that if you aren’t moving forward, then you’re falling behind. Never has this been more true than in agriculture today. But something else is equally true. It’s that more farmers are keeping up with this need for change by dedicating time and effort to cutting-edge studies on leadership. For 46-year-old Kelly Dobson, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
