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Mike Lessiter

Mike Lessiter

Mike Lessiter, a second-generation ag journalist, has been Editor/Publisher of Farm Equipment since 2004. He has covered business-to-business operations, manufacturing, and marketing topics since 1992 and has held various roles with the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Assn. and the Assn. of Equipment Manufacturers. Mike is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and was named president of Lessiter Media in 2007.

Contact: mlessiter@lessitermedia.com
Articles

ARTICLES

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Time to Move Your Circle

Sometimes you’ve just got to get out of your own head.
By Mike Lessiter posted on June 26, 2025 | Posted in Manufacturer & Dealer Issues
For the first time in years, I attended a business media summit in Washington D.C. I was the only ag guy in a room full of mostly financial publishers. I hung around an extra day this time to see organizations that might be out of our normal field of vision. While AEM and AED are working on national machinery business issues, I wanted to hear from some groups who might not show up on your radar since their missions are tangential to your business.
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To the Point

Who Brought Out YOUR Very Best?

By Mike Lessiter posted on June 4, 2025 | Posted in Best Practices
If you’re a manager, embrace your noble duty and remember that the aptitude of your staff — even if they don’t appreciate it today — rests in your ability to motivate, direct and bring out their very best. And if you’re on the other end, recognize the role and responsibility of those overseeing you, and why they might be inclined to get in your grill now and again — for your personal and professional gain.
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How to Scale — Without Losing Customer-First Roots

P&K was on the leading edge of a small operation ‘going big,’ but a trusting, decentralized culture prepared the seeds for a 40th harvest — as a 30-store group covering distant territory
By Mike Lessiter posted on May 21, 2025 | Posted in Dealer Succession, Dealer News
P&K Equipment’s owner and chairman is Dr. Barry Pollard, an unlikely executive leading a fast-growing, Oklahoma-based John Deere dealer group that leapfrogged the state of Missouri into Iowa.
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To the Point

Why Bother with the Dealer?

Consider the alternative, says longtime industry veteran
By Mike Lessiter posted on May 15, 2025 | Posted in Best Practices, Operations & Finance

One of our salesmen was fond of telling equipment manufacturers, “If you ignore the dealer, they’ll return the favor.” He was right, and some manufacturers learned their lessons the hard way. Some didn’t survive.


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To the Point

A New Metric to Measure

Your business also needs grinders, pounders, bruisers & cement-mixers on your team
By Mike Lessiter posted on March 31, 2025 | Posted in Best Practices
As you take in this week’s Final Four games, watch the efforts of those players doing the real toiling in the paint so others can secure the rebound. You’ll see several players who tirelessly box out – but whose efforts will never be reflected in the box score.
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