DEANNA FOX
THANKYOU
ABOUTDEANNA
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
VISIONFORTHEFUTURE FIRST100DAYS
Working for New York State’s farmers, producers and friends of agriculture has always been my goal, and the CEO position for New York Farm Bureau is my dream job. I am enormously grateful for your time and the opportunity to present my thoughts and state my case for why I feel I am the right candidate for this job. Thank you for this chance.
At my root, I’m a Central New York farm kid. 4H. County fairs. 7 a.m. milkings.
I know what the life of a New York State farmer is like because I’ve lived it. While the family farm is mostly gone now, I’ve chosen to embrace my history and make a home on one of the last dairy farms in Schenectady County.
When I went to college, I never anticipated I’d return to a life that mimics my upbringing, but agriculture has been the overarching theme in my 17+ years of professional experience. I’ve built a career in leadership, public affairs, public relations, media relations, marketing, operations, development and management that has intertwined with my life in farming... and I think that makes me a prime candidate for becoming the next CEO of New York Farm Bureau.
The hard work mindset of being a farm kid (and all the tenacity, creativity, resilience, independence and collaboration it brings) has stayed with me, helping me reach great achievement in my professional life. I would be honored to offer those skills and traits to this organization.
Outside of work, I spend a lot of time trying to maximize yields on my apple orchard, enjoy creative and culinary pursuits, skiing, cycling and being the mom to my two wonderful children.
I have over 17 years of direct e managing membership-driven leading from the C-Suites, de strategies for growth and expa implementing that strategy) a important external affairs hea media, public affairs and rela government relations.
I’ve built a notable reputation community for being a micro stories, concerns, successes a York State farming. This has with farmers and producers. T it” and that I relate to their ex
I have been the founder and p organizations and driven reve to-market point to seven figur few years. My experience is va I’ve gathered direct insight in business practices to learn wh doesn’t and what lies ahead.
My career has lead me to wor groups to find commonalities externally or within an intern driven, authoritative and dire to relate to people on an indiv make them feel validated and
A CEO must have a deep rost effective in the role, and I bel I’m exceptionally qualified in
Agriculture is experiencing rapid change, but it’s not the first time farmers have faced it. As CEO, I would take a historiographic approach to learn from fluctuations in the past and merge those lessons with modern advantages.
This would lead to a future for NYFB that allows the diversified farming industry of New York State to become a national leader in 21st century agriculture
The change in “how” we farm while maintaining our farming legacy would be the crux of strategy, with success and adaptability as the goal.
To achieve this, I envision a common sense fivepoint plan that includes:
1)
Focus on membership attrition, retention and growth, with expanded benefits, services and learning opportunities for our members
2)
Stringent and progressive legislative policy that addresses urgent issues
3)
An aggressive public relations and affairs campaign that brings new attention to the NYFB brand; strong relationship building
4)
Promotion of new farming opportunities and emerging markets
5)
Detailed attention to revenue growth and profitability that does not rely on restructuring or staff/service cuts.
The first 100 days are critical to any new role, but especially that of organizational leadership. The first 100 days establishes tone, builds relationships, assesses successes, pain points and areas of opportunity and develops an outlook for future projections.
Should I be fortunate enough to be offered this position, I would work to onboard and gather knowledge as quickly as possible, so that I would have several resources available to me on Day 1.
I would break my first 90-100 days into three blocks (30 days, 60 days, 90 days) to establish standards, expectations and practices and ensure a clean start on the November 1 fiscal year launch. With the themes of assess, strategize and implement in these three blocks, I feel confident I could usher in new leadership and systems without causing further strain on people’s natural hesitancy towards change.
The primary objective in these first 100 days would be to listen to all stakeholders under the NYFB umbrella (staff, district representatives, board members, NYFB members, legislative and government partners, community partners, corporate partners and other liaisons) and strengthen relationships.
Relationships are the crux of the organization, and my role is to foster those connections to spur new growth and opportunity.
-ListeningTour
-KnowledgeTransfer
-ExamineMorale
-AuditAllSystems
-IdentifyPainPoints
-EstablishTrust
-SeniorTeamWorkshop
The first 30 days will kick off with an in-person and virtual “listening tour” to hear our stakeholders’ thoughts on organizational improvement and successes and learn as much possible. A thorough examination (“audit”) of culture, morale, systems, software and financials will bring pain points to light and offer insight on where we can strengthen and grow NYFB. Workshops with senior leadership will help to guide strategy.
STRATEGIZE
-Phase1Strategy
-ContinuedAssessments
-TalentConsiderations
-CorporateCultureReview
-RelationshipBuilding
-OutlineSalesFunnels
-PublicIntroduction
IMPLEMENT
-ActonPhase1Strategy
-BeginRolloutofNewSystems, StandardsandSoftware
-EstablishMetricsandKPIs
-BeginMappingLong-Term Strategy
-BudgetOutlook
-Nov.1
Goalpost
The information gathered during the first 30 days will lead to Phase 1 strategy development, focused primarily on short-term gains that will lay the foundation of longer term strategy and goal setting. Talent considerations, relationship building, mapping out new sales funnels and exploring new systems/software will be part of Phase 1 strategy. The listening tour will continue as needed and plans will be made for public engagements.
We will begin implementing new ideas and fresh approaches during the third block of the first 100 days. New metrics and KPIs will be established, allowing time to test for success before November 1 fiscal year reset. New corporate standards and practices will be introduced while everyone is onboarded for new internal communications and project management tools. This Phase 1 strategy will be a solid beginning to longer term gains and changes.
I believe that being an effective leader starts with being an empathetic listener. A good leader must be secure in who they are and their abilities to guide others and drive progress, which eliminates ego struggles and creates an environment of peerage, teamwork and respect.
Clear, open communication is part and parcel to my leadership approach: dialogue must flow both ways, but a CEO must be proactive in bringing up issues and owning faults. Likewise, swift conflict resolution is critical to avoid lingering difficulties.
Normal reaction to change is to be expected when a new leader steps in, but my goal would be to mitigate issues as best possible by showing I’m here to serve alongside staff and this is a collaborative effort.
Bepresentandvisible
Internallyandexternally Brevityandtake-awaysinmeetings
Meetingsshouldcomewithtimelimitsand haveactionableitems
Opentonewideas
Agreatideacancomefromanyone
Empowerstaff,encourageskill development
Everyoneshouldfeelanownershipstake
Communicationiskey
Clear,concise,consistent Deferencetoother’sexpertise
ACEOshouldn’tbetheexpertonalltopics, butcaneffectivelycommunicateclear pointsdevelopedbyteam
Swiftconflictresolution
Highstandardswithrealistic expectation
Proactiveandconfident
Notafraidtoinitiateandgivedirection Agile,adaptable
Alwaysbereadyforchange
Increase benefits and opportunities where fiscally appropriate; high emphasis on self care and work/life balance; in-office and WFH perks to boost morale and make staff feel “cared for,” extend those perks as best possible to district offices; allow employees to decide mode of work that is best for them
One day weekly for all-hands in office meeting; regular in-person meetings to establish and grow rapport; crossfunctionality to increase internal relations and allow greater collaboration; visibility internally and externally from CEO
Excite stakeholders for mission buy-in to increase dedication to service; celebrate milestones; incentivization; ownership of strategy and success; develop high quality ideas and strategy; find collective inspiration
Events and opportunities that are focused on collaborative work, skill development, pertinent issues, knowledge expansion and FUN; lead by example; limit gatekeeping; regular encouragement; clear and effective communication to develop roadmap
NYFB’s challenges fall into two categories: the issues or the org the issues of the membership an Each challenge presents an opp growth.
Revenue decline; insurance divestments
Membership attrition
Operation costs
Talent pool
Public engagement and brand awareness
Internal communications
Labor force
Sustainability
Climate change
Technology
Federal and state legislation
Supply chain
Energy supply and consumption
Automation
Changes to farming structure
Biases and discriminatory actions on minority groups/farmers
Emerging farmer training and education
Public awareness
Loss of farmland
Loss of farms and farmers
Loss of diversified farms
46% of NYFB’s revenue comes from one source: the group manager’s fee for work ers compensation. This insurance cost has decreased, leading to a revenue slump and need to support other income streams and opportunities.
Seek additional insurance offerings
Explore options for financial products (like mutual funds with similar group manager fees)
Capitalize on historic divestment and reinsurance rates; create new insurance distribution channels
Find new income streams from Grassroots publication
Create an “internet of things” related to Grassroots
Build on and expand current reciprocities and alliance memberships
Create new membership categories
Strengthen member services and resources (education and training; conferences; early farmer resources; business planning tools; registration and certification tools)
Marginalized farming groups; agritourism; craft beverage; horse racing; female-led farming; CEA; aquaculture; green technology and alternative energy
Agriculture is, was, and likely always will be the backbone of American industry. The success of American agriculture is dependent on the willingness of governing bodies to create and institute policies that are encouraging of agriculture and protect the needs of small farmers.
NYFB is New York’s strongest leading advocate for our farmers. Few states are as diverse in its farm make-up as New York, which creates specific challenges for inclusive policy. Farming in New York is not the corporatized monoculture or factory farming present in other parts of the country and most New York farms cannot accommodate strict regulations attached to farming and environmental legislation. It is the job of NYFB to promote New York agriculture and work towards effective and thoughtful policy in federal, state and local governance.
Broad key issues to keep mindful of for agricultural policy include (but are not limited to): labor reforms; redlining; water regulation; climate sustainability; environmental protections; crop and disaster insurance; supply chain structures; taxation; import/export policy; hunger policy and food security; food safety; technology and automation (AI); farmland attrition; immigration; pricing supports.
Working with American Farm Bureau Federation, neighboring farm bureaus, agriculture and production associations, food security groups, equity interests, alternative energy policies and other like-minded organizations and interests groups will help bring attention to and push agendas for critical policy proposals.
Members are the heart of NYFB and everything we do must be done with the obligation to our members and the greater New York farming community in mind.
While membership will remain strong as long as the NYFB brand and reputation remain strong, there is always room to grow and improve. Agriculture is experiencing increasing dichotomies in size and structure, with large farms and micro-farms increasing their shares of farming make-up in New York. Farmers are aging out at a rapid pace (on par or exceeding other industry and workforce trends) and special attention must be paid to the needs and desires of emerging farmers and farm education.
Besides expanding services and benefits, new sales funnel tactics can be employed to acquire members and boost revenue.
Whybecomeamember?
Understandattritionandretention
Whydotheyleave,whydotheystay?
Findthemwhentheyare
Outreachandconnection
Salesfunnelforacquisition
Newsystems,bettermetrics
Frontlineonpolicy
Ardentadvocacy
Increasebenefits
Whatdomembersneedtothrive?
In-districtevents
ACEOshouldn’tbetheexpertonalltopics, butcaneffectivelycommunicateclear pointsdevelopedbyteam
Membershiplevelrestructure
Canweintroducenewtiersof membership?
PresentandvisibleCEO/leadership
NYFB is the leading advocate for farming policy and issues in New York State and the external relations strategy for public relations, public affairs, marketing and government relations should follow suit.
On Day 1, I would start developing an aggressive external relations campaign to boost the reputation and recognition of NYFB among all stakeholders, decision-makers and the general public.
When people think of NYFB, what comes to mind? Do they understand what our work entails and who we serve?
A new approach to brand management will focus on a detailed crisis communications policy, re-imagine the website and its capabilities, and create new external relations products (multichannel releases; media kits) for immediate information retrieval.
Be a leader among peers through strong collaborations and innovative thinking; provide exponential leverage and resonance on pertinent issues
CEO should be front and center of all agriculture issues in the state; aggressive placement of NYFB brand in media through PESO (paid, earned, shared, owned) model of content; increase awareness of what NYFB does
Develop content that drives engagement, pulls people into the acquisition funnel, and generates native sharing of NYFB mission
NYFB (especially CEO and senior leadership) should be the go-to source for media and interest groups to get quotes and insight into the current issues surrounding agriculture on a local, state and national level
