Leading the Way Podcast: Chris Policinski, CEO, Land O'Lakes
A dairy company-turned-technology trailblazer (and recent recipient of i4cp's Next Practice Award), Land O’Lakes is not just churning butter any longer. In this week’s episode of Leading the Way, Land O'Lakes CEO Chris Policinski explains how this farmer-owned organization is disrupting the agriculture industry.
Listen in to learn how this progressive company is using big data and satellite sensing technology to allow a farmer to grow more with less land, less water, and less crop input, which is good for the farmer and great for the environment. Chris and his team are “stepping up their game” to discover innovative ways that will meet the grand challenge of feeding the soon-to-be 10 billion people on the planet.
Key Soundbites
- On taking risks – “There really isn’t failure along the way. There‘s just learning. If you take a prudent risk and things don’t work out, that’s not failure. That’s learning. The most important thing is what did you learn and what are you going to go do next? That’s a valuable lesson for anybody.”
- On balance – “Balance the needs of your company against the communities in the broader world you work in. There really is an intersection. If you are worried about furthering the communities in the world you work in, you’re probably going to have a good business. If you have a good business, you probably have the resources to invest in furthering the community in the world that you work in. So balance your perspective, both outside and inside.”
- On innovation - “We really stepped back and said what are we good at? We’re good at driving insights into innovation and products and services. We have a muscle around using big data and driving insights into the farm community because farmers trust us. Once you have that good idea, it’s aligning structure and the team.”
- On culture– “We want one culture. We don’t want two cultures, no red shirts and blue shirts as we did some pretty dramatic organizational change. The second thing, and it sounds very basic, but we remind everybody of the core of our strategy. A big part of my job is to just communicate like mad and remind folks of what we’re trying to do. We’re all one team. Be mindful of our strategy. We will fail if we don’t work together.”
- On talent acquisition - “We are a people-driven company. We are not an asset-driven company. We have a lot of assets. But our magic comes from our people, and we continue to need people. And the best talent that we can acquire, the most diverse talent that we .”
About Leading the Way
Leading the Way is a weekly radio show and podcast series that highlights influential business leaders and leading people practices from i4cp. Co-hosted by Emmy award-winning television anchor and radio host, Scott Murray, and i4cp’s Angel Carlton, the show features interviews with respected business leaders from the world of business, sports, entertainment, healthcare and philanthropy.
The show airs live every Sunday at 4 pm CT on KLIF 570 in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, the global audience is invited to listen live on www.klif.com and the weekly podcast debuts on iTunes or Google Play and the i4cp website the following week.