As an alumni of the Ranching for Profit School, you have the opportunity to enroll in our Executive Link program which we like to call “EL”. EL is composed of ranching and farming businesses just like yours that are thinking and planning on an executive level. Members from these businesses serve on boards together to help strategize and grow their operations towards their self-defined goals such as increased profit and resiliency. As part of the EL program, twice a year members receive continuing education to help them grow as business owners and leaders. We just wrapped up our 2025 EL winter meetings, during which I had the honor of leading that continuing education. My wheelhouse is grazing and nutrition, but I decided to step outside my comfort zone and chose something totally foreign to most of our members, and probably to you, too; Scrum.
Years ago, I was exposed to a concept called Scrum – a work management framework inspired by the careful alignment and prioritization of a rugby team moving the ball up the field as one unit. Several pillars of value upon which Scrum relies struck me as incredibly valuable contributions to any thriving business. One rose above them all, and I challenged every member of EL during our winter meeting to evaluate how it affected their business.
People over processes. Scrum is a framework that requires structured communication and organized task flow management. While there is much value in the structure itself, this value elevates every piece of the process to excellence.
When your team isn’t producing results or isn’t performing well, when things aren’t getting done effectively or efficiently, what are our default diagnoses?
Most of us, almost always, will look at the unit doing the work – the employee. Maybe they don’t have the right skills, the right qualities, the right training. Maybe we question their work ethic or their leadership or their ability to be a team-player. In this situation any truly great leader of productive and high-functioning teams casts these initial assumptions aside because the important question to ask is “are the systems and processes in place enabling my team to be their best? Where is the system failing?”
Our people are the lifeblood of our business; we should seek flaws and failures in the systems we place them in before we assume they are at fault. If we have done our due diligence in the hiring process and believe in our employees, then instead of placing blame on them, ask them “what about this business is making your job difficult? How can I, as a leader, make things easier for you? I believe in you and your capabilities – what can we do to elevate them?”
As I encouraged the EL businesses – if you aren’t intentionally and consistently building and working on the systems around your employees, then your systems are subpar at best. This, polishing the support around your team, may be some low hanging fruit to tackle in your business. It may even be deadwood.
We have all heard the phrase “the system is broken.” In business, in government, in education, when things aren’t going the way we would like, we admit to a faulty system that is letting people down. I encourage you to do the same in your business. Ask yourself:
- What do my systems around labor and tasks look like in my business?
- Are tasks and work priorities visible to everyone so that we have total transparency on what the whole team is accomplishing?
- Are there repeated roadblocks that impede productive work days?
- How can I help my people do what they do, only better?
If this concept intrigues you, I would encourage you to read the book Scrum: the Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Dr. Jeff Sutherland. So many concepts within the book parallel Ranching for Profit principles. Consider it this month’s continuing education effort for you as a business owner and a leader. If you find yourself craving more, consider registering for a Ranching for Profit School this year or if you are an alumni of our school please reach out to talk to us about joining our EL program.
