CFO's Mission & Role

Chicken Farmers of Ontario ("CFO") has a Mission and a defined role.  Is it the correct role?  Is it well executed?  Let's take a quick look.  Who is CFO supposed to be working for?

CFO's latest annual report (2014) has been recently published.  On page 3, CFO declares its Mission and purpose.

CFO's Mission is stated as:

Deliver strategy‑driven and entrepreneurial leadership that builds economic value for the Ontario chicken industry

What exactly does CFO mean by this?

Wikipedia provides a military definition of these terms:

"Strategy is undertaken before the battle. Tactics are implemented during battle."

A Small Business Internet magazine provides a business interpretation, which seems more aligned to what CFO (or CFO's high priced management consultant who dreamed up these words) likely had in mind:

Figure 1:  CO's Infographic for their Strategic Plan

"Strategy refers to a direction toward a goal. Tactics are the actions taken to support that strategy. Most businesses deal with five types of strategy and the tactics used to achieve strategic goals: product, pricing, marketing, operational and financial strategies."

CFO provides a nifty infographic, showing CFO's purpose, 3 strategic roles, 5 business operating strategies, 3 enabling resources, and 5 key performance areas.

The problem with all this is starting with an assumption or an incorrect premise, this sets CFO off in the wrong direction.

I agree with CFO's Strategic Roles:

• Supply Management Steward & Regulator
  
• Farmer-Member Business Advocate
  
• Industry Value Chain Partner
  

There is no doubt that all of these are true, proper, and valuable.  Lets dig deeply on the first and foremost, namely "Supply Management Steward & Regulator".

"Steward" is defined as:   " One who manages another's property, finances, or other affairs."

This means that the Supply Management system does not belong to CFO, it belongs to somebody else, somebody that CFO is supposed to be working for, doing their very best to achieve the best outcome for this other party.

Is that somebody the Ontario government?

I suggest not.  The Ontario Government is also a Steward.  Both CFO and the Ontario Government should be working co-operatively and effectively for the people of Ontario.  The greater good of the public is CFO's boss and the owner and beneficiary of the Supply Management System.  CFO manages a fiduciary trust in the Chicken Supply Management System for the best interests of all Ontario.

Hopefully you now understand what CFO should be doing.  Hopefully CFO understands this too.  Did CFO's high priced business management consultant point out this important fact in great clarity to CFO's Board of Directors?  If not, why not?

In CFO's Annual Report for 2014, I counted 42 mentions of Ontario's "consumer".  CFO can certainly talk a good game, saying all the right words.  At least CFO seems to know what the public wants to hear.  At least CFO has that well in hand.

The question remains,

Is that CFO's hypocrisy and an attempt at their wrong, dysfunctional manipulation of consumers? 

Or does CFO really care about serving the public?

This is CFO's 50th anniversary.

Past performance of CFO's results at serving the public get a "D" grade.  Unacceptable!

Will CFO admit its past failures, and take remedial action to dramatically and quickly improve its performance?

It appears to me that CFO has too much pride.  At this point, they'd rather pretend all is well, rather than know for sure, or admit their shortcomings.

Likely that will continue until something else forces CFO to change for the better.

Where will that "something" come from?  When will it arrive on CFO's doorstep?