In agriculture, there is a work ethic and sense of urgency that can be both a blessing and a curse. Because of the pressures of weather and markets and the importance of timing, we can get caught up in the tyranny of the urgent.

At a time like post-harvest, consider a powerful leadership tool that can transform any knowledge workers effectiveness and focus: leadership meditations. Ultimately, this tool can help you to get more done in those times of urgency.

Nearly every great leader will refer to leadership meditations using different terms. The point is to organize your thoughts, value systems and imagination. The practice readies the most valuable asset on the farm or in any business for your highest of responsibilities. Those are problem-solving, decision-making, innovation and planning.

IBMs founder Tom Watson posted the infamous THINK signs that hang throughout IBM to this day. Google was credited with its hypergrowth phase due to its policy of dedicating 20% of employees time to thinking and working on innovation and new ideas. Odds are, if you think about your best breakthroughs, then many of them may have come in the shower; on a walk; or while leaning back midafternoon with a java, tea or sodaor even after 5 p.m. with a beerin hand.

Im not a Buddhist, but I once read of Gautamas five meditations in a book by James Allen, the author of the classic As A Man Thinketh. Allen and the five meditations inspired me to write five similar questions that would be more akin to what Watson of IBM posited to his team and what Peter Drucker suggested leaders think upon in order to innovate in high-impact areas.

The practice is simple. Grab your drink of choice. Sit down, relax, read the questions, and just think for three to five minutes about ideas relating to each question. Your mind will wander, but bring it back to the point, take a sip, think some more, and keep coming back to the answers that come to your mind as you ponder the questions.

Only after youve invested that three to five minutes, consider writing down your best ideas and thoughts. Odds are you will stumble on some gold in a matter of days, not weeks, and results in months, not years.

Now, stop working, and start thinking!

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