People hate change! Nowhere is this more prevalent than in agriculture. It seems to take years for people in agriculture to make simple changes – even though they know the change will be for their own good. I must confess that I too am reluctant to change. I may not hate change as much as some people, but it still makes me uncomfortable – and I don’t like it.
I read a neat little Seth Godin book entitled Tribes. In this book, Seth spends considerable time discussing the status quo and its fear of change. He believes change is inevitable. It is a normal and necessary part of life – and the sooner we embrace it, the better off we will be.
Seth says, “Change almost never fails because it’s too early. It almost always fails because it’s too late. By the time you realize that your corner of the world is ready for an innovation, it’s almost certainly too late. It’s definitely not too early.” Mr. Godin goes on to say, “There may be a small price to pay for being too early, but there is a huge penalty for being too late.”
We use the term Herd Quitter to refer to people who have enough courage to break away from the status-quo, herd-mentality way of thinking. It is more about thinking for yourself than anything else. Following the crowd (herd) and doing what everyone else is doing is never the best way to manage a business. Dare to be a Herd Quitter.