The Pacesetter Pod

Show Highlights:

• Has agtech's promise failed despite $45B+ investments? [04:37]
• The growing demand for clear ROI and field-level justification for agtech. [07:12]
• Realities and grower beliefs affecting agtech adoption. [08:52]
• Should agtech follow the rapid-growth trajectories of fintech and pharma? [10:56]
• Farmer bias towards product vs. paid services. [17:02]
• Complexity in agtech adoption rates with USDA data. [18:59]
• Upcoming $20B opportunity in off-patent agrochemicals. [25:15]
• Forward outlook for agtech for the next 10 years. [33:32]
• The future of scaling agtech, direct vs. OEM and retail. [37:16]
• How AI will empower agronomists and anticipatory ag. [42:09]

Connect with Aman Anand on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-anand-b64359b/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Scott Walker's journey in cocoa at ADM and KSW Global. [04:19]
• Value creation at origin by shifting cocoa processing to West Africa. [07:50]
• Why trust is crucial for investing in origin-based processing. [10:53]
• The story and health philosophy behind Verse Chocolate. [13:28]
• How end-to-end supply chain insights drive innovation. [20:36]
• Scaling a chocolate CPG brand without sacrificing quality. [30:03]
• Can supply chain knowledge serve as a de-risking tool? [35:10]
• Learn the realities of shifting from commodities to CPG. [39:58]
• Strategies to create demand and brand traction in CPGs. [44:49]

Find Scott Walker on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-walker-00a23511/.

To learn more about KSW Global, visit https://kswglobal.com/.

Explore Verse Chocolate at https://versechocolate.com/?srsltid=AfmBOorFtAQslhluF2L33T1xDcHu40yNMuagEkBG-j7jF12IVmMokt7S.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• The four key points for effective strategy activation. [02:16]
• Why strategy activation first needs an objective summary. [04:45]
• What drives urgency to execute strategy right now? [06:51]
• How to review the state of your agribusiness with indicators. [09:31]
• Future focus with a news headline exercise and metrics. [11:30]
• Outlining beliefs and assumptions about the market. [15:28]
• The power of anchored sequential analysis vs. SWOT. [16:39]
• Replace multi-day offsites with recurring team sessions. [19:36]
• When and how to determine activation action decisions. [23:17]
• The need for portfolio objectivity on selected initiatives. [29:33]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• The elements and problems of a typical strategy offsite. [02:06]
• What's a SWOT analysis? [04:20]
• Why SWOT is misleading. [05:48]
• Pitfalls of over-engineering the planning process. [09:31]
• Rethinking the level of investment in strategy activation. [12:58]
• Artificial urgency vs. allowing time for strategy refinement. [14:26]
• Benefits of the single-page strategy concept. [18:09]
• Community calls to action if this episode was helpful. [19:40]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Introduction to the "Activating Strategy" miniseries. [00:52]
• Why planning is not a strategy. [04:05]
• Three critical components in a strategy activation plan. [07:12]
• What risks can a decoupling strategy from planning prevent? [08:47]
• Four simple ways to distinguish strategy from planning. [11:56]
• Inviting agribusinesses with strategic clarity to be featured on the pod. [14:00]
• Alert on what's coming up on the miniseries. [14:38]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• What structural constraints are on talent in agribusiness? [01:12]
• How growth amplifies challenges in people processes. [05:04]
• Understanding the shift to specialization in businesses. [09:39]
• The core generalist vs. specialist choice and its impacts. [16:18]
• Ways to explicitly address generalist–specialist tensions. [18:05]
• The spectrum between generalists and specialists. [19:43]
• What can leaders do to foster a balanced talent strategy? [24:02]

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Solving problems vs. product focus in agribusiness. [04:58]
• Is on-farm experience a must for solution development? [07:21]
• The "right to win" in solution development in ag. [10:02]
• Lessons from healthcare on making industry-scale changes in ag. [12:51]
• What is the realistic timeline for ROI in agtech? [15:46]
• Farmer profitability and de-risking solution adoption. [18:29]
• Courtney Yuskis' career in ag and the crux of iterative steps for industry progress. [20:24]
• Learn about DTN's focus on sustainability and soil health. [26:17]
• Steps to ensure healthy skepticism during innovation. [31:03]
• Friction points of risk clustering in solution development. [40:31]
• Concerns and use cases on leverage and caution with AI. [44:19]

Find Courtney Yuskis on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtneyyuskis/

To learn more about DTN, visit https://www.dtn.com/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Do 70–90% of M&A deals fail to deliver or destroy value? [01:36]
• The origin of the M&A value destruction stat. [04:53]
• Historical context and contemporary relevance of stats. [07:44]
• The sample and methodology of the 1999 KPMG study. [08:36]
• The late-1990s macroeconomic context of the U.S. [11:29]
• Asian and Russian economic volatility during the study. [14:37]
• Do the late-90s economic cycles shape M&A in ag today? [18:36]
• Three reasons for skepticism of the stat's applicability. [23:09]
• Objectively rethink widely accepted M&A success beliefs. [28:40]

"Unlocking Shareholder Value: The Keys to Success" (KPMG, 1999): https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/pdfiles/eqnotes/KPMGM%26A.pdf

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• The unvarnished journey of Livestock Nutrition Centers. [04:56]
• What custom bulk feed blends solve for pre-feedlot beef cattle. [08:57]
• Why custom feed mixes are superior to big brand pellets. [12:15]
• Successfully counter-positioning in livestock nutrition. [16:26]
• Maturing from competing on price to selling value as ag suppliers. [27:06]
• Customization vs. efficiency trade-offs. [33:03]
• Will individualized feed blends inevitably homogenize? [36:03]
• Is a complete market shift toward custom blends likely? [38:31]

To learn more about Livestock Nutrition Centers, visit https://lnc-online.com/.

Contact Ben Baer on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-baer-5627714/.

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.

Show Highlights:

• Overview of Mark Waschek's career and Ag1Source. [05:07]
• Is agribusiness in a talent surplus or deficit currently? [09:05]
• Impacts of prioritizing structural assets over employee training in ag. [14:01]
• Is growing and promoting talent internally better for ag? [17:25]
• Why ag companies must pre-qualify leadership pipelines early. [19:19]
• The "Four Pillars" process for future leader evaluation. [28:57]
• Should incumbent CEOs exit succession discussions? [33:17]
• "Continue, Stop, Create" strategy to envision future CEOs by desired outcomes. [40:19]
• The power of EOS and its "Three Uniques" at Ag1Source. [48:54]
• Inviting you to share this episode with industry friends. [58:52]

Learn more about Ag1Source at https://Ag1Source.com/brands/ag-1-source/.

To connect with Mark Waschek, contact him via LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwaschek/ or email him at [email protected].

If you are interested in connecting with Joe, go to LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joemosher/, or schedule a call at www.moshercg.com.