This powerful leadership tool is vital for big-picture planning

The winter months are the perfect time to shift from urgent and short-term thinking to important and long-range goals. This transition is not easy.

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

To help you focus consider a powerful business tool: leadership meditations. Before you write it off as a fluffy and time-wasting exercise, consider the benefits.

The point is to organize your thoughts, value systems and imagination, Faust says. 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.

The Power of Silence

Business leaders need regular time away from our everyday hectic lives and schedule specific time to just sit and think, explains Matt Mayberry, former NFL linebacker for the Chicago Bears and business coach.

Some of the greatest achievers to ever step a foot on this earth all spent time in solitude every day, he says. It can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of life. We think if were sitting in silence not doing anything, that were not being productive. But thats the farthest thing from the truth.

If you think about the best breakthroughs on your farm, they probably hit you in the shower, on a walk or while leaning back midafternoon with a drink in your hand. Let your mind wander, Faust says. Odds are you will stumble on some gold in a matter of days, not weeks, and results in months, not years.

A leadership meditation is simple, says Mark Faust, president of Echelon Management. 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. After youve invested that three to five minutes, consider writing down your best ideas and thoughts, he says.

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