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To The Point: Fewer Chances Requires Better Performance

By Mike Lessiter posted on January 1, 2015 | Posted in Operations & Finance
With NCAA basketball now in full swing, you’ve likely heard about the “points per possession” measurement of a team’s offensive performance. It’s used by coaches whose style is to methodically work a game plan for the highest-odds scoring opportunity. Unlike the frenetic pace of a “run and gun” offense, the idea is not to discover “more” chances, but to make those presented to you count.
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From the Desk of Mike Lessiter

Competing is a Choice

By Mike Lessiter posted on November 10, 2014 | Posted in Data & Forecasts
Hello from a buried office desk. Haven't been in office much over the last 3 weeks, as I've been on the road in Minnesota and North Dakota and then at the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. Convention last week in Las Vegas, where I participated in a Q&A-type panel with dealers from Iowa and New York.
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To The Point: Addressing the Readiness Crisis

By Mike Lessiter posted on September 1, 2014 | Posted in Best Practices
Market forces are consuming a lot of “worry energy” these days. Worry time, reactionary busy-ness, and tasks that just aren’t “fun” are kicking would-be priorities into tomorrow and beyond. That’s what Floyd Jerkins, Jerkins Creative Consulting, calls working “in” your business, instead of “on” it.
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Grain Bagging

Dealers ‘Bagging’ Temporary Grain Storage Sales

Grain bagging and unloading implements are billed as pieces of iron that help farmers market for profit. Three dealers explain how they’ve approached this new equipment niche.
By Mike Lessiter posted on August 13, 2014 | Posted in Niche Equipment Markets
The September 2018 World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released on Sept. 12 pushed corn prices down lower with futures down more than 3.5%. According to Farm Futures, larger-than-expected yield estimates and other bearish data pushed futures down nearly 4%. September futures dropped 13.75 cents to $3.4150, while December futures fell 14.25 cents to $3.5250. These conditions make temporary grain storage, like bagging grain, a good option for farmers.
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2014 Dealership of the Year Award Winner: PrairieLand Partners

By Mike Lessiter posted on July 15, 2014 | Posted in Best Practices
The 2014 recipient in the large, multi-store category of the Dealership of the Year program — PrairieLand Partners, headquartered in Hutchinson, Kan. — embodies much of what you’d expect from a professionally managed dealership group for the 21st century. Things like decisiveness and objectivity, action plans that groom and test the next generation, and hard discussions about getting people in the right seats on the bus — and moving those who are not.
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Special Report: Transitioning to the Next Generation of Dealers

Re-Enlisting Now to Support the Pending Generational Turns

By Mike Lessiter and Brant Bingham posted on June 1, 2014 | Posted in Dealer Succession
I’ve always wanted to be prepared enough to work for the company, but I wasn’t always sure if my interests would bring me here. I did know that if I decided to go to work here, it needed to the last career decision I made. People deserved that type of commitment. The rule is that, as family members, we don’t have the blessing to join the business until we’re ready and have the capacity to give 100%.
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Special Report: Transitioning to the Next Generation of Dealers

Dad Had to Leave the Building

By Mike Lessiter and Jennifer M. Carroll posted on June 1, 2014 | Posted in Dealer Succession
I grew up here in Arnett. When I graduated high school and left for college, I never planned to come back. So no, there wasn't any master plan for me to take over the dealership; I wasn't sure where my career would take me. The year we were married, my ex-husband started his veterinarian degree at Oklahoma State and I started my career in Target's management program.
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