Preface: The name behind the firm, Pita Alexander started as a sole practitioner about 35 years ago. Pita has experienced the famous “boom and bust” cycles of farming.

Pita wants agribusinesses to succeed and is dedicated to the financial success of his clients. Many young farm accountants have benefitted under Pita’s tutelage. His contribution to farming has been recognised with several awards, the latest being an ONZM honour in 2010.

Pita is fond of travelling and loves his “farm study tours” to Australia and the US.

 

Selections from Pita’s advice:

1. Say no whenever critical, be gentle with your no but be more firm. Over your lifetime you will probably make or save more money with no decisions than yes decisions.
2. Fear comes with territory and fear of failure is natural but don’t dwell on it.
3. Hard work can sometimes outweigh talent but a genuine lack of talent will be a major problem – often on the ground though nothing beats hard work. Certainly it involves calculated risks and flying with the eagles not the turkeys, but if you want to succeed get into it.
4. Their is no halfway house with top advice. If you don’t like it, that may be because the advice is good and you didn’t think of it in the first place.
5. Your direction is more important than your speed, as speed without direction means any road will do – Like Alice in Wonderland.
6. People don’t tend to leave companies – they tend to leave the management – so being gentle with people and ruthless with money has a place.
7. A successful business requires 100% attention and everything else is a distraction particularly when a business cycle is low.
8. Avoid a field of dreams mentality. Agricultural profitability has a low dream requirement and few of them are bankable.
9. The worst decision in many situations is indecision. Once you and your spouse have given a problem a series of hard kicks, sought independent input and calculated the cost/benefit then your know enough to say yea or no. Maybe is not a answer.
10. Disagreement and conflict can be progress if you have this with the right people in your team – never throw out a good idea regardless where it comes from. Losses manage themselves well but success never does.
11. Learn to negotiate like a pro. Getting people to agree is key to your business. What do people you are negotiating with really want? Start from tht point and move the exercise quietly and slowly towards you. Negotiation inside a family also can be useful but more care is required.
12. Celebrate small successes especially in a down cycle.
13. You can say a lot without speaking – lead, lead, lead.
14. Not everyone will like you but that is OK. If everybody likes you then you are probably doing something wrong. If you are doing well financially then it’s often best to tell no-one.
15. Your attitude during up cycles and down cycles is your choice and your team will measure this attitude.
16. Fifty per cent of something big or good is better than 100% per cent of nothing. Bank your progress at every opportunity.
17. Never forget that greed at some point can easily take over. Keep yourself out of that camp as greed advertises itself widely and quickly.
18. Accept the point that loyalty, integrity, and sincerity doesn’t exist like the old days. However, some these older qualities are still rock solid business attributes
19. As a farmer you need to know your worst self and when this might come out. In a downturn the worst of your weaknesses is of no use – if in doubt check immediately with your spouse.
20. Be careful who you trust. Nobody’s cash flow and profitability in these down cycles is as important as your own. Give away advice and kind thoughts but never consider giving away profitability.
21. Your production is much more important than your politics. Politics rarely solve anything so don’t bog up your mind and your business with political thoughts – leave that to the experts.
22. Your gut feeling sometimes can be wrong – it may have serviced you well to date – but you need to combined with top advice and science in probably equal proportions.
23. Passion is not enough with significant losses or potential losses – you need a plan that is peer reviewed and agreed to by your spouse. Passion alone wont’ make you profitable, but all going well can lead to profits.
24. Under promise and over deliver are fundamental philosophies for any business owner. It is hard to do in a down cycle but it is ever more when things are pushing against you.
25. Don’t start a business just to make money – if you don’t love what you are doing, you will burn out quickly.
26. Get used to wearing many hats – you are in charge of finance, marketing, debt management, interest payments, livestock movements, animal health, problems, people problems, iron disease issues, family problems, lack of cash and everything one metre outside of the farm dwelling.