By Mike Wilson
Earlier this month we received good news about our 2012 Master Class program. Our IFAJ colleagues in Sweden have been working behind the scenes to establish a partnership with the Swedish Agricultural University that will bring two more journalists from developing countries to our program and workshop at the IFAJ congress, to be held Aug. 15-19 in Sweden.
By all accounts, this will bring the number of journalists to 10 or 11, even more than the number of people who attended last year.
Earlier this year we were not even sure we would have a Master Class, due to budget concerns. It would have been easy to become discouraged and give up on the program.
Instead, we reached out to forge new relationships with new partners, including British American Tobacco (watch for more info on BAT in a future issue of this newsletter), as well as founding Master Class sponsors Pioneer and Agriterra. Several guilds also stepped up and volunteered to sponsor Master Class attendees, including Sweden, The Netherlands and the U.S.
By staying positive and focused on the goal, we were able to turn what could have been a negative into something good for the organization.
By happy coincidence, another new sponsor, Bekina, is being introduced this month to IFAJ. This partnership allows us to begin translating our monthly newsletter into Spanish. Read more about the newsletter and Master Class in this issue.
In my many years as a journalist covering agribusiness and agriculture, I have learned – sometimes the hard way – that the key to success is how you approach things. In the publication I work at, our editorial approach is to find the positive angle in the many challenges our readers face. For farm readers, we will focus on the things they can control – say, better ways to manage their business – and not the things they cannot control, like the vagaries of weather.
In other words, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. That expression may sound contrived, but it works. When you are faced with a problem or concern make sure you have all the facts, then reach out in a positive way. Instead of complaining, think of some potential solutions and answers. That is the beginning of good, constructive dialogue. Good dialogue will lead to positive change for everyone.
I have found this to be true with IFAJ as well. We talk about a lot of challenges at our IFAJ business meetings. After much debate and discussion, we find ways to solve problems. Not everyone always agrees with the solutions. But as long as people are willing to compromise, we do find a way to move ahead. That is not easy in an international group where different cultural values and language barriers can often trip up the process.
IFAJ moves forward in a positive way by focusing not on complaining, but on doing. The ‘doers’ – people who do things without expecting anything in return – are the engines of our volunteer-driven organization. A business leader I know calls this “Servant Leadership” – people who, if they see a need, work to fill that need, no matter how high up they are in the organizational hierarchy.
We have a lot of servant leaders in IFAJ, and the organization will need a lot more in the future if we hope to achieve our ambitious goals. Keep it positive and incredible things will happen.