I recently returned from a 2 week bicycle adventure where we cycled from Howick in Kwa Zulu Natal to Cape Town. While the 1878 kilometers proved challenging at times, it was the people that made a tremendous impact.
One particular farmer on the edge of the Karoo showed us how things should be done.
On arrival at the farm we were treated to great hospitality and a tour of the farm. As a typical management consultant I continually badgered Oom Jacques with questions like what can go wrong, and what keeps you awake at night. To my surprise the answers I received were alway positive and can be summarised as follows:
Stick to your knitting - focus on what makes you money
Do things properly - including spending money on experts to supplement your weaknesses
Plan wisely - placing irrigation dams where they can gravity feed without the need for electricity may not have seemed important when electricity was cheap, but has become essential now
Family counts - no one cares for the business like an owner. To have one's family help work the land means its done with the kind of care and enthusiasm that is scarce in employees
The fruit of these comments was evident both in the impressive organisation of the farm, and in its yields. Oom Jacques has fully embraced these principles and lives them. For that and his unfailingly postive attitude, he is a hero!
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