40 UNDER 40 PERSPECTIVES and bring that experience and expertise to my clients. The problems and challenges we face are complex and often rooted in long-standing methods. I like helping businesses take a step back to look at the entire chain of systems they use. Stratagerm allows me to be the connector and share information across the various industries. I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all approach to anything in agriculture. I want to know what you aim to create and why it's valuable to you so that we can find a feasible way to make those goals a reality. If we were face to face, I'd purposefully ask you a question to make you think outside of your existing systems. MAKE YOUR WORLD BIGGER Whether you are specialized or travel through many parts of agricultural systems, connection is its own form of currency in our industry. Having opinions and then actually sharing them might sound scary but most of the time the agriculture community is curious. Surprisingly, nobody has called my insights dumb or yelled at me in disagreement. The odds of that happening for you are pretty slim too. Most of the people pursuing interaction with others in agriculture realize that collaboration and innovation will help us solve complex agricultural challenges faster. When people ask me what it took to build my skill sets and launch my own company, I always say it's also good to step outside of what you are doing to take a look at what other people are doing. In fact, choosing to keep learning is exactly how you will grow your unique business to the next level. For me, in South Africa, seeing a system in action was a catalyst for a perspective shift. Choosing to put myself in new experiences for the sake of seeing different perspectives has served me well. Ag people are pretty willing to take 30 minutes to share about what they do. Those conversations are not only fascinating, but also the most valuable resource I have as I continue to grow and evolve as a consultant. Michelle Klieger is president of Stratagerm Consulting. She is also a member of GPN's Forty Under 40 Class of 2024 and can be reached at michelle@stratagerm.com. 24_001365_FM_GetReadyForFall_HalfHoriz_US Mod: September 6, 2024 11:47 AM Print: 09/06/24 page 1 v2.5 π ORDER BY 6 PM FOR SAME DAY SHIPPING TOOL RACKS GET READY TO ROLL STORAGE SHEDS COMPLETE CATALOG WAGON CARTS 1-800-295-5510 uline.com GREENHOUSE PRODUCT NEWS 39http://www.uline.com