Running a successful business requires the owners and operators to be across a wide range of rules and regulations.
In some industries, the burden of regulation places a layer of cost that many are unaware of.
Bureaucracy and red tape seem to increase over time and much of this is driven by the need to have a good defence should litigation be instigated against you.
Saying you do not know or are unaware of the rules of the game does not "cut it" anymore.
During my career, I have facilitated numerous farmer meetings and conducted debate on a range of topics.
On many occasions I have experienced a farmer debating from a point of ignorance. He or she failed to do the necessary research and in presenting their case, they lost a lot of respect from their colleagues.
You don't have to know how to fix everything, but you do need to know that you have a problem.
Ignorance comes in two forms.
Firstly, it is when you know that there is a body of material you should be aware of and understand, but choose to neglect it.
In some cases, it just seems too hard and we can suffer from what we call 'information overload'.
Secondly, it is when you don't know that you don't know something.
The latter means you have no apparent need or motivation to find out and therefore do nothing to improve your knowledge.
In gaining our drivers licence, we agree to abide by road laws and more recently, understanding our responsibilities in public health has been critical to control the spread of coronavirus.
Knowledge, rules and regulations can usually be layered by importance from critically important, then important, to should know and nice to know.
'Critically important' knowledge could be categorised as 'life and death-type' issues and 'important' brings greater efficiency or harmony to the workplace.
The 'should know' allows us to avoid fines and gain the respect of others.
Having an understanding of the remaining details as it relates to an issue allows us to debate from a point of strength, having the ability to draw on case studies or prior issues.
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Numerous farmers no longer place pressure upon themselves to be the "full bottle" on everything related to the running of their business. Instead, they have a team around them they can rely on as the need arises.
This does not abrogate them from having the fundamental knowledge and understanding, because in the end the buck stops with the farmer, not the solicitor, accountant or the agronomist.
Speaking of an agronomist, the late Peter Flavel always reminded me - "Ken, you don't have to know how to fix everything, but you do need to know that you have a problem".
There are plenty of people out there that you can call on to fix a problem if needed.
Scientists and bureaucrats have a wonderful way of making things very complex and complicated and in remaining abreast of our responsibilities, I like to seek what I call the "six pack for success".
What are the half-dozen key elements I need to know in everything I do, then drill down from there if my intuition tells me this is very important?
My parents gave me the initials of KIS, and I have to keep reminding myself that it also stands for keeping it simple.
Why make things complex, when simplicity will offset a large amount of ignorance?
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