Interesting statement

[flyingS]

"We can't know precisely how many calves we will wean, what price they will bring and what our costs will be. Does that mean there's no value in planning? President Eisenhower could have been talking about ranching when he said, "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable."" Dave Pratt

Food for thought. This statement was in this weeks Profit Tips. I hope everyone has had a good spring and has planned well enough for a successful 2012. I have heard several times that in order to know where you are going you have to know where you are at and where you have been. I watch several people that can not tell you what they are doing in the next hour much less next week. They live minute for minute. It seems like these people always struggle. I also know people who have a vision and a plan to reach that vision, they seem to be doing well. A friend of mine has made the transition and has went from being close to selling the ranch to paying for it and expanding his cow herd. The difference in his operation was a vision and a plan.
Have a successful year.

 

[RSL]

That is actually a good Sunday Morning sermon.

I will definitely attest to the power of that statement in a ranching context. When we arrived as a family at a proper mission and vision statement, the result was revolutionary, and decision making is much easier.

 

[sandtrap]

Next you'll expect a person to be organized .

 

[LazyWP]

"We can't know precisely how many calves we will wean, what price they will bring and what our costs will be. Does that mean there's no value in planning? President Eisenhower could have been talking about ranching when he said, "In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable."" Dave Pratt

Food for thought. This statement was in this weeks Profit Tips. I hope everyone has had a good spring and has planned well enough for a successful 2012. I have heard several times that in order to know where you are going you have to know where you are at and where you have been. I watch several people that can not tell you what they are doing in the next hour much less next week. They live minute for minute. It seems like these people always struggle. I also know people who have a vision and a plan to reach that vision, they seem to be doing well. A friend of mine has made the transition and has went from being close to selling the ranch to paying for it and expanding his cow herd. The difference in his operation was a vision and a plan.
Have a successful year.

I have also seen people that plan or dream their life away. As the old proverb goes... everything in moderation.

 

[flyingS]

WP the moderation has to be reality. There is nothing wrong with dreams but a person has to take a long hard look at whether those dreams are realistic or not. I have dreams of winning the lottery, I just hope I don't get struck by lightning first. Most of the time dreams aren't fullfilled because there is not a solid plan of action to accomplish them. Once you develop a plan dreams become goals. It is all in perception and action. I truly believe that where there is a will there is a way.

 

[RSL]

The way it was explained to me was:
A Vision statement should be the high ideal (lofty goal) that is somewhat abstract and may never be accomplished but provides the real drive behind a company. Our Vision is "The Best Beef in a Better World".
A Mission statement should be brief and include actionable/measureable/attainable goals that can be accomplished in 3-5 years. Our Mission is "The be environmentally, socially and economically responsible."
We gauge our large decisions in the context of moving us towards our vision, but I can provide a long list (hundreds) of specific measurable and measured actions that have moved us towards our mission. Our annual budgeting and regular planning processes are mission focused more so than vision focused.