28 / SEEDWORLD.COM OCTOBER 2018 PEOPLE LIVE, BREATH and die for their work. Many spend years developing expertise, and each in their own way con- tribute to the world. For plant breeders, new varieties are their diamonds. They need good tools to carve them from stone. Have you ever thought of a person’s title and how little it tells about what they know, or what is the life experience that led them to this specific point in the pre- sent? What if our titles were like a pedi- gree that the breeder keeps for each line? I guess mine was something like: (school teacher/school principle) art school-> social work BA-> computer program- mer-> senior business analyst-> VP of sales and business development. I was not always VP of sales and busi- ness development. I have been working side by side with breeders since 2006. I learned their business, and I learned how to provide them with information man- agement solutions to support their work. My interest in breeding has deepened with time. Like them, I’ve developed my own passion for breeding, although mine was from a software perspective and how to help breeders create food in the form of best varieties in their crop — how to carve diamonds. The need for software solutions is never-ending. Many processes need coverage: germplasm management, trial workflows, parents and lines, traits, observations, inventory tracking, reports, label analyses and on and on. Breeders work in many levels: with management, with trial officers and sales, with labs, with colleagues, technicians and others. Despite all these interfaces and team work, the hard-core breeding is ultimately done alone. No one tells them what to do. The success of the breeding program is entirely dependent on the breeder and his or her skills to make good decisions. Seed companies invest millions of dollars in trials with a single purpose: to make decisions. Huge amounts of data are collected but when it is time to make a decision, there is a pain point. If data are not presented the right way to support good decisions, results will not always be the best they could be, and the breeding program may not fulfill its potential. This risks the whole company. In fact, it can take years to realize that the program is not successful. Breeders know that and seek ways to avoid this from happening — a lot of responsibility. Breeders cannot produce quality results out of thin air. Like in any field these days, technology can support them and assure they stay focused and make the best decisions. A friend and owner of a respected seed company once told me, “Your software provides the tools I supply my team with when I send them to find diamonds hidden in rocks. My varie- ties are my diamonds. My breeders need good tools to carve them from stone. Not just a pen and a paper.” Software Solutions Provide Tools to Carve Diamonds Hidden in Rocks INBAR STERN PHENOME NETWORKS LTD. , VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT inbar@phenome-networks.com • phenome-networks.com AT WHAT AGE are you old? At what point do you become obsolete? I’m 68 years old and a 46-year member of the seed industry. When you’re that long in the tooth, I suppose it’s easy to be per- ceived as being past your prime and out of touch with the modern world. But I’m not. I have a strategy that keeps me far ahead of people in this industry who are years my junior. It’s not my 46 years of experience that gives me an advantage. Experience alone decreases relevancy; it doesn’t increase it. What does keep me relevant is combining my 46 years of experiences with my strategy of hanging around with people half my age. Young people are truth tellers. They’re bold enough to tell you the truth when people your own age won’t. If you don’t think that’s true, just smile at a youngster when you have broccoli stuck in your teeth. They tell you about it right away, when 99 percent of adults wouldn’t save you from that embarrassment. I find that young people aren’t afraid to speak up when they think I’m wrong. When I need the help most, they give it to me straight. Young people are far less worried about hurting my feelings than they are of me not getting it right. Young people do some very impor- tant things for me. They motivate me to keep my body young by pushing my workouts in the gym. They keep my mind young by pushing me to learn and try new things. And they keep my spirit young by helping me to always maintain Why I’m Glad I’ll Never Get Old ROD OSTHUS R.C. THOMAS COMPANY PRESIDENT @RodOsthus • rod@rcthomas.com • rcthomas.com a great attitude, so I can positively influ- ence the attitude of one person or an entire room full of people. But the biggest reason I hang out with young people is that it keeps me relevant. People my age focus on the past, decreasing their relevancy for both today and for the future. Many veterans of this industry say they’re glad to be out of the seed business. I say, I’m glad I’m still in it. I can’t wait to get together with my young circle of influencers each day and play this 21st century game of agricultural chess. Young people are the primary motivating force in my life. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m not against the “old people” my age — I’m just glad I’m not one of them.