As with RCD, a new tool has slipped
across the Tasman. Just as controversial, South Island farmers are
being introduced to Holistic Management. Critics suggest those listening
to the holistic banter have a kangaroo loose in their top paddock.
Yet much of the approach draws on an area we all experience but few fully
understand - lifelong learning.
Holistic Management improves rural living in two ways: by building
family unity through greater collaboration; and structuring common sense
when examining decisions. The concept deals with leadership through
building relationships and trust. Having family members working together
so their actions reflect their values creates success not just in a financial
or farming sense but in all facets of life.
The bottom line in farming is economics. Yet if you think
you’re poor now, wait till you get divorced! The biggest financial
impact on a business is the break-up of its people. While farming industries
highlight profit and production, farming families work longer hours and
question the quality of rural life whatever their income. Most farming
specialists leave university pumped up with interest rates, fertiliser
rates and target liveweight gains. However, they spend much of their
career dealing with issues between husband and wife, father and son, boss
and staff, and farmer and bank manager.
Families are the primary social group humans belong to. Getting
families around the kitchen table to discuss the future is important.
The sharing of ideas, desires, and experiences allows family members
to work as a team. Such collaboration strengthens when family activities
are value driven and forward looking.
People farm because it provides a means for their children, their
partner, and themselves to pursue meaningful interests, either as individuals
or as a group. Holistic Management helps family members to work
together to take advantage of the lifestyle farming offers. Choosing
to help one another reflects the belief that families do influence their
own lives.
Knowing what families can influence about their situation is important
here. This knowledge and a proactive attitude builds confidence,
self esteem and trust in children and parents alike leading to greater
family stability. Through open communication and sharing of ideas,
families strengthen relationships and purpose.
Many people hearing Holistic Management for the first time argue
it simply uses common sense. This is true, but it brings together
these elements in an orderly way to routinely develop logic and reason
for farming and family activities. Sound management involves routines
and habits that structure learning and activity, yet have the flexibility
to handle the fluid nature of modern life.
Modern farming involves many short term goals and objectives.
How one goal influences another can be unclear to farmers, their families,
and their staff. This confusion results in a constant reshuffling
of priorities, miscommunication, and even a breakdown in trust.
Focusing on a dozen different goals while making many daily decisions
heightens the complexity of modern farming. The flood of choices
and options pulls farmers in many directions at once. Farmers barely
know whether their actions are taking their business where they want.
This confusion reduces their confidence about the future and intensifies
their short term focus.
My own research as a student provides a useful insight here.
Farmers and their partners are often unaware they are directing their
own learning and change. Therefore, they have difficulty relating
the learning they do to their lifelong farming ambitions and goals.
Holistic goal setting and decision-making bring direction and purpose
to the farm family. The holistic goal or vision is used to compare
whether objectives are in line with a family's values. It helps
families think and act beyond the farm gate and the end of the financial
year. Understanding our values helps develop commitment to the farm,
community and industry. Farming is a lifelong occupation.
The holistic decision-making process examines the suitability of
objectives in financial, environmental and social terms. It helps
families understand what they know about a situation, what information
they need, and where to look for problems further down the track.
As a result, families improve their information sorting skills and become
better at coping with their changing circumstances.
Holistic Management helps farmers and their families understand
the very nature of learning so they can create better lives. Only
families know what they value and only they can determine whether an enterprise
or idea, a technology or practice is suitable for their situation.
This independence blending plain common sense with family values is the
overall feature encouraging families to manage holistically.
Published in Southern edition of Country Wide, Nov 2000
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