b'PLANT BREEDING SOFTWAREEnding World Hunger Through InnovationCHRISTOPHER LEONARD President, Agronomixchristopher.leonard@agronomix.comwww.agronomix.comONE DAY,about a year ago, I gathered my staff together andvinced him that other plant breeders would benefit from those asked them what they would like to be able to boast about fivesame tools and, in 1990, Agronomix Software was born. years from now and the answer I got back was as simple as itField crop breeding requires complex data analysis, and for was passionate: They want to be able to say they helped endover 30 years, Dieter has led a team of skilled plant breeders and hunger. software developers in enhancing software to meet the diverse Thanks to our founder, Dieter Mulitze, our software is in aneeds of breeders worldwide. position to do that by providing plant breeders, crop research- Theres more we can do. It hasnt escaped our notice that 95% ers and agronomists around the world with the tools they needof plant breeders in South America currently use Microsoft Excel, to improve food sustainability though the development of morewhich lacks many of the critical tools breeders need to optimize resilient crops that deliver increased yields and reduce foodthe management and analysis of their data, inventory seeds, waste.increase their research productivity and assist them in quickly That came about organically. Dieter was working as a cerealselecting the best possible varieties for their region. breeder in Morocco in the late 1980s, a time when most plantThe environment for growing crops for many countries in the breeders were still recording their data in notebooks theysouthern hemisphere is a lot harsher than it is in the northern brought with them into the field. Needless to say, plant breed- hemisphere. Plant breeders in LATAM need access to tools that ing programs generate massive amounts of data and breedersallow them to efficiently develop regionally optimized crops that often found themselves trying to organize all of it using largedeliver the resiliency and higher yields that are key to ending paper spreadsheets. It was time consuming and slowed innova- hunger both regionally and globally.tion. Dieter wanted a better way to manage and analyze his data,Delivering those tools is a goal our team members have set so he set about writing a program that gave him the tools hefor themselves and one they come to work every single day in an needed. A chance encounter on a plane in the late 1980s con- effort to achieve. BUSINESS GROWTHKnowing the Difference Between Consensus and Engagement Makes ALL the DifferenceSHAWN BROOK President, Seed World Groupsbrook@seedworldgroup.comseedworldgroup.com@SeedWorldGroupAS I FACILITATEdiscussions around the world, Ive come tooften requires an outsider who can shed light on the commonali-learn what makes for a truly successful discussion that results inties in whats being discussed. substantive change versus an outcome that simply keeps statusPeople usually have more similarities in their goals than differ-quo or gets people to begrudgingly agree with something. Theences, but they often see it as a complete adversarial situation former generates engagement, while the latter simply generates theres NO way were giving into THEM, I often hear. In these consensus. cases, no one is committed to engaging because they see it as Whats the difference between generating consensus andtaking a weaker position.engagement? Generating consensus is getting everyone to agreeIf you use outside engagement in the form of a facilitator, to go in a certain directionSure, that sounds OK to me, theynobody must take a weaker position.sayand then everyone moves that way.So how do you arrive at getting people engaged? Grant them Engagement, on the other hand, is about understanding why,some ownership over the outcome. The idea, campaign, or strategy buying into the why, and charging forward at 100 miles an hourthat comes out of it isnt the most important piece; the ownership behind that why.is. When its their idea, theyll be fully committed, self-adjusting, and Consensus isnt bad. We need some consensus in our lives.tweaking as needed. You might work hard for the bosss idea, but That ability to get everyone to say yes is a great skill to haveyou will literally run through a wall for your own idea. BUT (used for dramatic effect, because I should never use thisThe tricky part is when people slide into thinking theyre being word!) when we need real buy-inwhen we need people to fullymanipulated into agreeing with a certain idea. Nothing about commit and push towards a goalwe need engagement. Andthis is manipulation; its about clarity. The difference between engagement comes from genuine conversation and understand- manipulation and clarity lies in intent. Proving your idea is right is ing, not just from agreement. manipulation; fostering shared belief in the path forward is clarity Getting there isnt easy, though. Getting people engaged and having help to achieve that is invaluable.22/ SEEDWORLD.COMLATAM'