I recently saw an article shared on LinkedIn from a fellow agriculture commodity colleague entitled 6 Empowering Words for Women in Business. The article is about giving women inspiration and words of encouragement, but I think these foundational principles can apply to all of us in the meat industry (male or female).

Confidence

I live by the mantra, “Sometimes you just have to do it and ask for forgiveness later.” While some might see this common millennial mindset as reckless, I look at it as taking many calculated risks. When was the last time you or someone in the meat industry took a big risk?

I think something we can all agree on is that big risks usually have big rewards; yet in the meat industry we tend to be painstakingly slow to change and take risks. There is a ton of data and insights out there to point us in the right direction, so let’s have the confidence to take more calculated risks.

Oh and by the way, the original source of my mantra came from a non-millennial; one of my first female leaders.

Opportunity

Right now, perhaps even more so than in the past, there is a need and opportunity for innovation within our industry. Consumer expectations are changing, and with it comes an opportunity to meet those needs in different ways with different products, different packaging, and different forms of marketing.

While many of us in the meat industry were debating whether cell cultured meat or plant-based meat were going to be a major threat to our industry, companies in our industry instead seized the opportunity to invest in those same products. So who is going to seize the next major opportunity?

Purpose

As I think about the greater purpose of the meat industry, it’s about feeding the world. We can get caught up in the all the messiness of life, and forget this one simple purpose; to put food on people’s plates. So let’s remember and keep focus on our purpose, because it’s a good one no matter what people may say.

Knowledge

It can seem counter intuitive, but the article talks about the power in not having knowledge. When you don’t have knowledge of something, you are more apt to ask questions and find others who have the knowledge that you are lacking.

Is there another processor that can teach you something new about your business? Perhaps, we should start thinking about knowledge transfer more in a pre-competitive manor; I’m a believer that as meat consumption increases there will be room enough for us all. Seek out knowledge from those that have it, even if they may be a competitor.

Control

The article talks about taking control of a car by grabbing the wheel and getting rid of all the distractions keeping you from success. I think this principle can apply to the activist agenda that at times distracts us. We have to maintain control and a proactive narrative so that it is not shaped by those that do not truly know us.

Fear

Have you ever heard the phrase, “they’re hungry”?

The phrase “they’re hungry” is used to describe an individual that is always chasing something. When you have a healthy sense of fear, you are more apt to continually innovate and stay relevant.

In this current consumer climate, I think staying relevant is one of the meat industry’s major fears. A healthy sense of fear can be a good thing; it continually challenges us and gets us to think about things differently. What are we doing today to prepare for and meet the expectations of consumers tomorrow?

This is for the ladies (and the gentlemen too)

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