Dairy Coach

I don’t travel outside of Wisconsin very often for work.  But this week, I’m over in Washington D.C. for the NMC annual meeting.  Yesterday while some of the attendees spent the morning in committee meetings, a few of us snuck away and headed over to the heart of the District.  We started the morning with an ‘abbreviated, insider’s tour’ of the Capitol building.  While most tours only make it through the Rotunda, Statuary Hall and a few other points of interest, we had the unique privilege of going on ‘the Floor’ while C-SPAN was setting up their cameras and lights for tonight’s State of the Union Address.

From the Capitol building we took a cold walk down the National Mall to the Washington Monument and then eventually hailed a cab to Arlington National Cemetery.  As we walked up one of the roads of the cemetery to watch the Changing of the Guard, it was completely overwhelming to see the countless grave sites of the men and women who served our country to protect the many freedoms that most of us take for granted.

At the top of the hill, we stood in silence as members of the Third Infantry Regiment of the US Army changed guard with the utmost detail and precision.  Regardless of the weather conditions or time of day, you can count on these Honor Guard soldiers to be standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns every minute of every day, honoring the ultimate sacrifice that was made by so many soldiers who went before them.

When it comes to the act of sacrificing, what do ‘regular people’ like you and me do?  And no, it’s not just about the things we give up.  Everyday life is full of those.  I’m talking about the actions we take to help make the world around us a little better than it was before.  These acts of sacrifice might be at home, at work, at your church, or maybe at your kids’ school.  Maybe you sacrifice your time and talents to help an individual or a group in your community.  And maybe you do this voluntarily or out of obligation, once in awhile or every day.

And although most sacrifices involve someone giving of their time, it’s not just about the minutes and the hours that you ‘give up’.  Sure it’s noble that many of us are willing to make the sacrifice of working long days and weekends to get a project done at work.  But true sacrifice involves giving a piece of yourself… your energy, your passion.  In other words, you make a difference when you do more than just go through the motions.

Chances are you have a really busy schedule and you sacrifice less than you could.  I’m embarrassed to admit it, but most days I’m completely consumed with work and I tend to sacrifice very little of my time and energy on non-work activities.  I need to change that.

Last week, our country celebrated the 50^th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s Inauguration.  It was during that memorable speech that he challenged his fellow Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country”.

You will probably never sacrifice your life to protect or defend our nation’s freedom.  But you still have a lot to give.  The question is… Are you willing to give it?

Are you a ‘people’ person?  No, not that kind.  I mean… are you a person who focuses a lot of time and energy on finding good people and helping them succeed?  Basically, are you a good talent scout?

Tonight, FOX begins its tenth season of American Idol.  Each week, the goal of the show is to find the nation’s next singing sensation.  With the help of viewers across the country, a panel of industry insiders will use their eye for finding talent in order to sort through thousands of young, aspiring superstars.  Not only has this national talent search entertained millions of viewers, it’s created a massive amount of revenue for the network, the show’s creators, its judges, and last but not least, its top finishers.

And what would professional sports be without talent scouts?  The pro personnel staff for every NFL team is consumed by watching countless hours of game film of collegiate and professional athletes, noticing the smallest tendencies and details of each person, from speed and strength to shoe size and emotional maturity.  They profile these players’ stats, both on the field and off and ‘hire’ the people who they think will be the best fit for their team.  Ironically, not all scouts are equally good at finding the best talent.  It turns out the first job of the team’s General Manager is to find people who are talented at finding talent in order to build a winning team.

This weekend’s NFC Championship game between the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears is a true testament to the value of finding and developing top-notch talent.  When the season started back in September, the Packers were picked to go to the Super Bowl.  But that was when all of their starters were healthy.  As the season progressed, the Packers suffered numerous injuries and their coaching staff was forced to rely on a lot of “no-name” players that were discovered and chosen by the team’s talent scouts.  Now five months later, the Packers are still on track to earn a trip to the Super Bowl without five of their initial starters and another ten players on injured reserve.

Unfortunately, outside of professional sports and the entertainment industry, a lot of us in the ‘real world’ don’t spend enough time seeking out and evaluating talent.  Whether you’re searching for your next entry-level employees, mid-level managers, or professional advisers, how good are you at identifying, hiring, and promoting first-rate talent?  Or by default, do you just do what’s easy and expedient and fill positions with the ‘best you’ve got’?

Sure, the reality is that when it comes to hiring, you’ll always be limited by the pressure of budgets and time frames.  But what would happen if you were to invest the time and effort it takes to find people with the competencies your company truly needs at each position?

It seems that many dairy managers spend more time evaluating and choosing pieces of equipment and cattle than they invest in the people who are entrusted to operate and care for them.

It’s hard to imagine anyone would spend millions of dollars on building a dairy without devising blueprints and plans for the project, right?  Yet everyday, that same dairy operates around the clock with the help of the people you’ve selected to run it.  So… how talented are the people you’ve decided to hire?  And more importantly, what can you do to help them become better?

Remember when we were younger, we’d reply to an insult with the phrase “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  I’m not sure if kids actually say that anymore.  It seems that now they prefer using the internet and cell phones to hurt each other’s feelings.  Either way, I’d have to argue that words tend to hurt more.  Well, maybe not as bad as real sticks and stones… I can only imagine how much that would hurt!?!

But if you think back to when you were growing up, chances are you probably still remember some of the mean and hurtful things that people said about you and to your face.  And if you’re like most of us, you probably even remember a few of the ‘not-so-nice comments’ that you also made and now wish that you hadn’t.

In fact, if you’re a normal guy, it’s probably safe to say that you’ve heard your wife or girlfriend state that “It’s not what you say; it’s how you say it.”  But then again, I’m not so sure that’s true either.  Although she’s probably right (she usually is), I think it’s more than just the tone you use.  It’s the words you choose as well.  And unfortunately, it’s pretty hard to ‘take back’ comments that you make after you’ve already made them.  After all, saying that you “didn’t mean it” or that you’re “just kidding” doesn’t actually make your previous statement a joke!

You see, words have meaning.  Whether it’s the Constitution or a hand shake and a promise, we all count on the meaning behind these words.  In fact, it seems many conflicts and misunderstandings that we encounter with friends, family, and coworkers begin with words.  Sometimes these problems start when you say something you shouldn’t have.  And sometimes, these problems arise when you say something that you can’t or don’t follow through on.  Either way, these uncomfortable situations could’ve been avoided by choosing your words more carefully… or as I’ve been told before, you should “think before you talk!”

Of course, nobody’s perfect.  At some point, everyone is going to say something that’s regrettable and hurtful.  Fortunately, there are words for that too.

And just like that, it’s 2011… This is going my year.  Actually, I’ve been saying that for the past five or six years.  I’m not sure if I’m being optimistic or just delusional.  Either way, there has to be some value in starting the New Year with a positive attitude, right?

Truthfully, the cynic in me thinks that New Year’s is completely overrated.  I mean, think about it.  What are we really celebrating?  Unless you’re a member of Willard Scott’s 100 Year-Old Birthday Club, making it through one more year and witnessing another ‘calendar change’ really isn’t that big of a deal.  It’s not like we’re celebrating some great accomplishment.  Essentially it’s just another excuse for staying out all night and partying.  And I don’t know about you, but I’ve come to accept that it’s ok to ring in the New Year a couple hours before midnight!

So what is the ‘practical purpose’ of celebrating a new year?  I think for most of us, New Year’s Day represents a fresh start, a ‘clean slate’.  Although today is just like any other Tuesday, the first week of a new year is symbolic for starting over again and getting our priorities back on track.  Whether your goal is to lose weight, save money, or quit drinking Diet Mountain Dew for breakfast, this week most of us will focus on rediscovering the discipline that drifted away after last year’s ‘newness’ wore off.

Or maybe by now you’ve already given up on making New Year’s resolutions.  I suppose it’s probably fair to say that you’re in good company.  After all, most surveys confirm that the majority of people’s resolutions don’t last more than a few weeks.

But what if you decided to make just one?  How you choose to apply it to your life is up to you.

Here’s my challenge to you in 2011… Find three things that you’ve “always done that way,” and do them differently this year.

That’s it.  Sounds pretty simple, right?  But how many times have you or someone you know responded to a situation with the stubborn words “but that’s how we’ve always done it”?  Or maybe they’ve pushed back a little harder and said “it’s amazing that we’ve survived all these years doing it like that”.  And I guess some years surviving is all we can hope for.  But wouldn’t you rather thrive than just survive?  You see, each new year we can always count on one thing… everything changes.  Whether or not you choose to adapt with the changing world around you is up to you.

Now I agree, you can’t and shouldn’t make wholesale changes throughout your entire operation.  But I’d imagine there are a few things that you could consider changing and improving this year.  In fact it’s interesting that almost every manager, when asked how things are going, replies with the comment “we can always do better”.  You see, in order to make that a true statement, something that you’re doing right now would have to change.  Whether you’re struggling with your people’s performance or your cost of production, what you’re currently doing isn’t working as well as it could.

Ultimately, you can choose to do nothing differently and hope that 2011 is gentle with you.  Or, you can acknowledge that what “you’ve always done that way” could be done better.  Remember that quote by Albert Einstein?  He said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

This year, instead of accepting that you might be crazy, how about you work on finding a better way?!

Maybe it’s been awhile since the last time you sat in a seminar and listened to someone give advice about improving your business management skills.  It always seems that these “experts” essentially say the same thing… analyze this, analyze that; do this, don’t do that.  And although many times we don’t actually follow through with much of this “common sense” advice, the truth is they’re usually right.

And at the risk of trying to impersonate someone who professes to know what he’s talking about, when was the last time you did a SWOT analysis of your business?  Basically, what are your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats?  I realize you’re probably too busy to sit down with a notebook to do a comprehensive analysis of your dairy.  So I’m not going to suggest that you do that.  For the sake of saving valuable time, how about you just do an ‘informal inventory of your operations?

Essentially, think about all the departments within your company. For each area of your business, ask yourself what makes each one successful and vulnerable both today and in the future.  After you’ve taken the time to think about each department, let’s turn your focus to assessing the people that make up your team.  Since your people run the departments that make up your business, I’d contend that your team is at the foundation of everything your departments do.  Ultimately your people can be your Strength or your Weakness, and your Opportunity or your Threat.  So how do the people in each department measure up?  Does your team have what it takes to make your job a little easier while making your company more profitable?

Regardless of how you analyze and rate your people, hopefully you’ll see the potential that lies in every person within your company.  And as you think about all the people that round out your team; remember that every position that you create presents an opportunity to make your company stronger.

Remember when we were kids, the dilemma our parents had when it came to spanking wasn’t “should we or shouldn’t we?” but rather… “belt or wooden spoon?”  Back then the saying was “Spare the rod, spoil the child.”  Now don’t misconstrue this as an endorsement of ‘corporal punishment’.  I’ve witnessed firsthand that time-out’s and using words seems to work really well also.

Not too long ago, parents believed it was their obligation to teach their children about character and responsibility through tough love and discipline.  When we weren’t under their watchful supervision, we knew that our teachers, coaches, and even our friends’ parents had the green light to discipline us if needed.  Actually, the worst part about getting reprimanded by someone other than our parents was that the real punishment would be waiting for us later when we got home!

But as times have changed, it seems that the role of parents has changed too.  It appears that now parents are their kids’ “friends”.  Nowadays when a parent makes a phone call to a teacher or a coach, it isn’t to apologize for their child’s behavior and promise that it will never happen again.  Today, the purpose of a phone call is to defend their child and challenge the teacher or coach’s decision.  Instead of teaching their children some life lessons about respecting authority and accepting the consequences for their actions, some parents even threaten these ‘alternative role models’ with legal action.

So what do ‘helicopter parents’ and ‘coddled kids’ have to do with you and your business?  If you haven’t already, in the next few years, you’ll be looking to maintain and grow your business with the help of entry-level employees and supervisors who haven’t learned the valuable lessons that exist in the real world.

Not only do you have to teach these missed lessons to your new workforce, but you also have to cultivate a culture of discipline.  And it seems the biggest challenge of implementing a culture of discipline is determining the right balance between ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’.

So how do you know when your expectations are too high and there’s too much discipline on your team?

When you notice that employee morale is constantly low and employee turnover is constantly high, you’re most likely out on the ‘too much’ extreme.  However in my experience, most managers don’t have to worry about the effects caused by applying too much discipline within their team.  If anything, the majority of companies suffer from just the opposite… not enough discipline.

Then how can you tell if your company is suffering from not having enough discipline?  For one, you might find yourself thinking that your team is out of control.  But beyond feeling like your employees are running your dairy, take a look at your company’s policies, protocols, and schedule.  If you’re trying to operate your business without these tools, chances are you don’t have an adequate handle on the important details that affect your bottom line.  In fact, it’s safe to say that without these systems in place, your employees are probably the ones who are actually in charge of your day-to-day operations.  Sure, that might not be your plan.  But honestly, how many days have you allowed your milkers to just “figure things out on their own and run the dairy like it should be run” and then complain that they messed everything up?!?!

When it comes to discipline at your company, the goal should be to avoid the extremes and find a proper balance.  Essentially, you’ll know when you’re finding the right degree of discipline when you see how your employees react when you start enforcing your new policies and protocols.  The ones who don’t value discipline will test you and eventually quit or get fired while the ones who do appreciate discipline will nod in agreement and say “thank you, it’s about time!”

If you’ve ever managed a team or even been a part of one, you probably know firsthand how challenging it is to get all your people to move together in the right direction at the same time.  And although most managers rank employee management as the most important part of their job, they tend to avoid it because it’s also the most challenging aspect of their job.  Ironically, managing employees becomes more and more difficult as a result of avoiding this huge challenge from the very start.

So let’s be honest with ourselves.  When it comes to work, most of us tend to do the jobs that we like to do first and save the jobs we don’t enjoy doing for last.  And employee-related issues usually fall to the bottom of the list.  Sure, most of the time you have a perfectly good reason for not dealing with employee management issues.  The truth is that you’re probably really busy taking care of all the other important jobs that you’re responsible for.

But ultimately, Employee Management requires just two things… employees and managers.

It seems that identifying employees is usually pretty easy.  Employees are the ones who do the “real work”.  They’re on the front lines getting things done.  They’re the ones who perform tasks that produce tangible goods that can be measured.  Without a doubt, their output is critical to your company’s success.

Identifying managers, however, tends to be a little more difficult.  Managers are responsible for making sure the “real work” gets done correctly and efficiently.  The real value of their role lies in the ‘multiplier effect’.  Instead of just being one person doing the work of one person, managers spread themselves over numerous employees, making sure every individual is on the right track and delivering the desired outcome.  Although some people don’t consider managing “real work”, the bottom line is that managers are doing the work that “really matters.”  Without managers following up with employees and ensuring that they’re staying on course, the company’s performance is sure to suffer.

The problem that most managers face is choosing the correct fork in this road we call Work… should they choose to do the “real work” or the “work that really matters”?

As you might imagine, a lot of managers prefer staying busy and choose the path called “real work”.  And you can hardly blame them, right? That’s where a lot of the stuff you enjoy doing is found… field work, equipment repairs, operating machinery, and herd health.  That’s the tangible stuff that other people see and you can measure.  Your team notices that you’re not afraid of doing “real work” and you don’t need to justify how busy you are because everybody can see how much you do.  Not to mention, that’s the work you’ve been doing for a long time and you’re good at it.

But now, both your dairy’s employees and its managers are cruising down the same path doing the “real work”.  They’re miles apart and too busy working to worry about what the others are doing.  Everyone’s occupied, doing the “real work” while no one on the team is managing, doing the “work that really matters”.  However when the manager finally turns around to see what the employees have been up to, he finds that they veered off course a while back and needs to fix the problems that were created while he was too busy doing the work he prefers to do.

When it comes to Employee Management, there’s no doubt that your dairy needs both employees and managers.  It’s probably pretty easy to identify the employees who do the “real work”… but who’s truly managing and focusing on the “work that really matters”?

Although Christmas music has already begun, I consider this week to be the official kick-off to the holiday season.  And within a few days we’ll be getting together to spend time with family and friends, watch football, and eat way more than we possibly should.  Hopefully we’ll take a little extra time to relax and reflect on all of the gifts the Lord has blessed us with as well.

Whether it’s the economy, sports, politics, or the weather, we often get caught up in the issues that mess up our days and complicate our lives.  But when you think about the people in your life and the opportunities that are in front of you, you’ll realize that all your daily inconveniences seem quite trivial.

Our talents and abilities, both physical and intellectual, allow us to do jobs that many people are unable to perform.  And on top of that, we are privileged to live in a country where life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are promised to everyone.  What we do with all these gifts is up to us.  Regardless of how we choose to use them, this Thursday might be a good day to stop and remember how fortunate we are for all that we’ve been given.

And toward that end, I’d like to take this time to say ‘Thank You’ to all of the dedicated, hard-working people within the dairy industry that provide us with the one thing so many of us take for granted.  You see, this Thanksgiving is actually a lot like every other day.  If it weren’t for the long hours and hard work of our nation’s farmers, millions of people would go hungry.

And as the general public becomes further removed from the process and the places that produce the food we all need and enjoy, many people are unaware of the resources and effort it takes to put meals on our families’ tables.  Unfortunately a lot of people have come to expect that food will always be readily available, affordable, and safe.  And it will continue to be up to all of us to promote our industry’s commitment to keeping America fed and clothed.

At the same time, I’m afraid many dairy producers tend to get caught up in the daily grind and forget what it is they really do for us.  Not only do you take on the risk of operating and growing your dairy business as a means to provide for your own family, but you also do this to provide for families across the world.

While your work allows people in small towns and rural communities to live and prosper, it also puts the well-being of our natural resources and livestock into the hands of people who have the most experience caring for both.  And if producing our nation’s food wasn’t enough of a commitment, now many dairy producers are willing to develop and invest in new technologies that will protect our environment and create alternative energy solutions.

I’m sincerely proud and grateful to be part of an industry that does so much good.  Regardless of the current state of the economy, our country can count on the dairy industry to continue feeding people from coast to coast while providing year-round employment and consistent economic stimulus.

We are truly fortunate that God has blessed our families with so many of His gifts.  He has entrusted our farmers with the great responsibility of feeding our nation and caring for all that He has created.  For all your hard work, sacrifice, and dedication… Thank You Farmers.  We’re grateful for all you do.

Today, Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta of the Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade will receive our country’s highest military recognition for heroism in battle.  Staff Sgt. Giunta will be the first living soldier since the Vietnam War to receive the Medal of Honor.  Three years ago in one of the deadliest valleys of Afghanistan, his unit was ambushed by Taliban forces and were taking on heavy fire.  When he saw that one of his fellow soldiers was shot and being dragged away by Taliban forces, he ran straight into enemy fire to rescue him.

In a recent 60 Minutes interview, he struggled to come to terms with receiving this prestigious award.  It turns out the soldier he rescued was one of his is closest friends, Sgt. Joshua Brennan.  Although rescued from the hands of the Taliban that night, Sgt. Brennan didn’t survive the attack.  And it’s the pain of loss that’s felt in the reality of losing a fellow soldier that makes Giunta uncomfortable with receiving an individual recognition for “doing what anyone would’ve done”.

The bond created between the young men and women who’ve gone away to war is incredible.  And I suppose it’s not that surprising when you know that everyday could be your last.

Clearly nothing we do at work is as critical as the life and death situations that our nation’s military face every day.  But how can you help create unity and teamwork within your team?

I tend to think that teamwork can only exist when the members of a team are able to get along with one another.  No, that doesn’t mean they have to be best friends or even like each other.  More than anything, ‘getting along’ means respecting one another.  And where does respect come from?  I’d imagine every one of us has different criteria for why we respect someone.  But I’d argue that respect for a teammate is a combination of integrity, ability, reliability, and work ethic.

In other words, we respect people who we can trust to ‘do the right thing’, who are good at what they do, who we can count on to do it, and who work hard doing it.

When someone on your team is not trustworthy, not good at their job, not showing up, or not working hard; your team and its cohesiveness will certainly suffer.  You see, everybody likes working with people they can count on.

Unfortunately, managers cannot create or command teamwork.  They cannot force employees to respect each other or work as a team.  However, managers can (and should) influence the creation of teamwork by recognizing team members who meet your team’s expectations and removing those who don’t.  Although some employees show up and ‘punch the clock’, these team members will not earn the respect of the rest of their team.  Allowing these employees to remain on the team without pulling their weight will stifle any attempt to create a unified team of winners who truly care about what they do.

Ultimately, team conflicts begin when someone can’t be trusted to do their job.  And it’s your job as a manager to make sure everyone on the team is consistently performing theirs.

You can learn more about the heroics and humility of today’s Medal of Honor recipient Staff Sgt. Sal Giunta, by clicking here.

Remember the famous sign on President Truman’s desk, The Buck Stops Here?  Regardless of whether you’re a politician who was voted out of office last week or a head football coach who lost his job yesterday; if you’re a leader, you probably already know that the buck stops with you.

As an employer or manager, you’re accountable to everyone who depends on the success and viability of your dairy… your management team, your employees, your customers, your vendors, your lenders, your neighbors, and last but certainly not least, yourself and your family.

So does that mean you’re the only one at your company who should be held accountable for their decisions and actions?  Of course not.  Despite being the main person in charge, you still need to expect every person on your team to be accountable for themselves and the work that they do.

Unfortunately, it seems that some employees believe that accountability primarily means ‘showing up on time’.  Think back to conversations you’ve had in the past with employees regarding raises.  Have you ever had employees argue that they deserved more money simply because they “never miss work”?  And yes, I agree sometimes that’s a good place to start.  But how did employees start believing that perfect attendance was the only thing they needed to earn more money?  Sure, some employees probably already believed that from the start.  But at some point, I’d bet this mentality was reinforced by bosses who gave in to the ‘as-long-as-you-show-up argument’.  And since that’s all that some managers expected from their employees, that’s all that these managers got!

So how do you create a sense of accountability and spread it across the rest of your team?

I believe accountability starts at the same place that the buck stops, at the top.  You set the tone for what’s expected of each person on your team.  By setting high standards for your employees and providing them with the necessary tools, training, and support to achieve this level of performance, your team will truly know what’s expected of them every day.  By utilizing job descriptions and written protocols to communicate and evaluate the work that each person does, you’ll be able to hold everyone accountable for their personal performance and overall contribution.  And now, instead of rewarding employees for merely ‘showing up’, you’ll be recognizing them for how well they actually do their job.

Whether it’s a politician and his constituents, a football coach and the team’s owner, or a manager and his employees; we all answer to somebody.  The success of your company is counting on your team, and your team is counting on you.