The Importance of Communication with Justin Miller

The Intentional Agribusiness Leader Podcast

With a 27 Year Ag Career History, Justin has spent equal parts of his career in the Production and Manufacturing sectors of Agriculture giving him a deep understanding of needs at the grower, retailer and distributor levels. For the last 16 years, he has spent has held Sales Management roles for Companies such as WinField United, Lallemand Plant Care and Trace Genomics.

Justin currently serves in a VP role for Ostara, the makers of Crystal Green fertilizer, where he focuses on Strategic Customers across the entire Food Value Chain.

In this compelling episode of the Intentional Agribusiness Leader podcast, host Mark Jewell engages with Justin Miller of Ostara in a vibrant conversation that explores the depths of intentional leadership and its impact on agribusiness. The dialogue delves into the essence of engaging a team, driving revenue, and fostering a dynamic workplace culture that navigates beyond traditional corporate silos to thrive on communication and collaboration.

Justin Miller brings his extensive experience to the table, sharing his insights on what it takes to be an intentional leader in today's agribusiness landscape. The discussion orbits around the crucial aspects of servant leadership, the importance of facilitating cross-departmental communication, and the strategies to retain and attract top talent in a competitive market. Justin emphasizes the value of weekly team meetings and the need for a leader to bridge the space between executive goals and field realities. Additionally, the conversation points to the rising importance of personal branding for both leaders and team members in leveraging social media platforms like LinkedIn for recruitment and brand positioning.

Key Takeaways:

• Intentional leadership revolves around hyper-focus on end goals and employing servant leadership to support and empower sales and agronomy teams.
• Weekly meetings and open lines of communication can dismantle silos within companies, fostering a sense of collective effort and team unity.
• The shift in talent acquisition strategies sees social media platforms like LinkedIn increasingly being used for hiring top-tier sales talent.
• The personal brand of a leader and team members plays a pivotal role in attracting good people to the team and company.
• Retention of sales talent is intimately connected to opportunities for growth and the ability of a leader to mentor and inspire belief in the team.

Notable Quotes:

• "To me, that's intentional, right? It's servant leadership is what I believe in." - Justin Miller
• "The game has been changing a little bit... LinkedIn has kind of gotten legs off its own now... and if you've done a good job and got those people following you on that platform, they're excited." - Justin Miller
• "Internal headwinds... It's the saddest day when the boat doesn't get out of the harbor due to internal headwinds." - Justin Miller
• "Anything that takes away from [passion] is exhausting, for sure." - Justin Miller

Engage with the full episode for a deeper dive into intentional leadership and innovative strategies in the agribusiness sector. Stay tuned to The Intentional Agribusiness Leader podcast for more thought-provoking discussions that unravel the intricacies of leadership, team dynamics, and industry growth.