Opinion
Guest post by Kristjan Hebert, president of Hebert Group. This post was originally posted here.
I’m usually a pretty positive person, but I won’t lie, it’s been a challenging harvest so far.
Mother Nature has thrown us some curve balls, with too much rain and humidity slowing things down. This has put us behind schedule.
Our team is excellent and doing their best; bad weather is just one of the things we deal with as farmers.
On top of that, one of our trucks was stolen recently. Last year, it was tools, and this year, it’s a truck. These forms of theft happen every year and may not surprise those in the agriculture business, but it’s disheartening nonetheless.
These thieves knew exactly what they were doing, ripping out the OnStar and GPS systems to make it more difficult for the RCMP to track them down. In addition, a wallet had been left in the truck and now that person is dealing with the hassle of replacing IDs and personal information—a huge headache at our busiest time of year.
Now, before you say this is just one long rant from a farmer, I want to share something with you.
A few weeks ago, a good friend sent me a video that I thought was pretty awesome. It perfectly sums up how I think the world (both personal and professional) should work.
I’ve had to refer to this video a few times recently to make sure I’m also putting this energy out in the world.
Watch it here…it’s only two minutes long.
I’ve been lucky enough to have a few people in my life who live and breathe this concept. My mentor, Danny Klinefelter (who I wrote about here), wanted to share his knowledge and inspire farmers to be better at business. What he ultimately created, the TEPAP program at Texas A&M, is undoubtedly an example of a conspiracy of awesomeness, where producers return year after year to continue their learning and mentor new attendees.
Another mentor and friend is Kim McConnell, who I wrote about here. An incredibly genuine, collaborative, and positive leader, it’s no surprise he’s considered an icon in our industry and has been named an Inspiring Business Leader Award.
Am I being too idealistic to think that helping people is easier than saying no, putting up roadblocks, working hard and simply trying to make life easier for others?
I’ve spent a fair amount of time chatting with many colleagues, community leaders, and amazing entrepreneurs who seem to be experiencing some of the same things I have over the last few weeks. From overregulation and bureaucratic roadblocks to negative criticism and outdated mindsets, we will not get ahead as a country, and agriculture won’t thrive in these conditions. Specifically, Canada needs to increase productivity right now. We are lagging behind other countries, and our economy is smaller now than it was in 2019. It’s a severe problem, as outlined in two good reports from the Royal Bank and TD Bank. If things don’t change, we risk a drop in living standards and further wage stagnation.
It doesn’t matter what industry or profession you are in; you can have a mindset that creates a conspiracy of awesomeness, just like in the video.
When we conspire to create positive change, there is a ripple effect inspiring others to join in.
It is up to all of us to continue to forge ahead, focus on the future, support the right people in the right seats and “create a better world for our children, and leave better children for our world.”
I cannot think of a better statement. Rant over.