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Personal Northstar · 2026

Drew Scott
Keske — Personal Northstar: Mission, Values, Vision, Goals

A personal application of Highland's Northstar — purpose, direction, and progress for an Impact Operator & GM working across land stewardship, regen ag, and food systems.

Mission ➤

Purpose · 100-year

Build systems that connect people, land, and community.

⤷ current focus: Impact Operator & GM roles across land stewardship, regen ag, and food systems — paired with hands-on farm and ranch reps, and writing that helps people live more rooted lives.

Values ➤

Purpose · In action

Rooted

  • · Place, people, and craft over abstraction.
  • · Long stays beat fast moves.

Built to Ship

  • · Strategy becomes systems; systems become shipped work.
  • · A working prototype beats a perfect plan.

Operator's Honesty

  • · Say what's strong, what's partial, what's a stretch.
  • · Numbers and outcomes over narrative.

Always a Student

  • · Beginner's mind across trades, tech, and texts.
  • · Read, write, repeat — daily practice, not seasonal.

Long Game

  • · Decades-thinking applied to land, relationships, and reps.
  • · Compounding over chasing.

Vision ➤

Direction · Horizons

3y

80%

Deeply repped as a GM / ops leader in mission-driven work — running a working operation or program in food systems, regen ag, or tech for good, with a published body of writing and a shipped suite of personal tools.

5y

10%

Leading stewardship or development at a land trust, regen-ag org, or food-systems venture — translating field work into funded, durable programs.

10y

7%

Co-founder or principal of a regional land + food organization that connects working lands, local food infrastructure, and community education.

20y

3%

A multi-generational stewardship platform — land, learning, and writing that outlasts the founder and pays back the people and places that built it.

Weighting follows Highland's Northstar: 80% of energy on the 3-year, 10% on the 5, 7% on the 10, 3% on the 20.

Goals + Outcomes ➤

Progress · Annual WHYGOs

Goal 1

Land + ag reps — get deeply on a working operation.

WhyEleven seasons on a ranch and a year managing it are the foundation; this year is the one that turns that base into a defined craft and a defined role.

Outcomes

  • · Full season of organic no-till production + CSA distribution.
  • · Land a GM, ops, stewardship, or regen-ag role with real scope.
  • · Wilderness Advanced First Aid + Highland Academy completed.

Goal 2

Ship the writing — finish what's started.

WhyWriting is the through-line across every season of work. Shipping these three open projects closes a five-year arc and clears the runway for what's next.

Outcomes

  • · Wisdom Library Daily Reader complete and published.
  • · Learning Library — 6 Guides complete and published.
  • · Three Fields Substack launched and into a weekly rhythm.

Goal 3

Land the right role — GM, ops, stewardship, development, CS, or education.

WhyThe portfolio and the reps are in place; the next compounding move is the seat that lets the work scale beyond a one-person operation.

Outcomes

  • · Six role-fit lanes (land stewardship & working lands, farm/market-garden & food systems, GM/ops, development, education & outreach, customer success) turned into a tight, targeted search.
  • · Top-of-funnel built through direct outreach, not applications.
  • · Signed offer with mission alignment and room to operate.