Dairy Coach

Chances are, we probably all thought food production would be somewhat protected during these uncertain times. But it turns out that as our volatile markets respond to the emotions and decisions of the marketplace, even the most essential, most necessary industries like Agriculture are being shaken by these forces.

So now what?

Just like our nation’s healthcare professionals, we too push forward.

And like the many generations who farmed your land before you… you shake off the news from yesterday, say a prayer for strength today, and get to work. Not because it’s easy, but because it’s what you do.

When your family and employees turn to you today, they’re seeking and hoping to find strength and comfort. Up until now, you have been one of the main sources of stability in their lives… no pressure, right?!

They may have expected you to have all of the answers in the past when it comes to running the farm, but right now, they know this time it’s different. They know that you don’t know what’s going to happen next. But “your people” still know they can count on you to show up and lead.

And towards that end, here’s how you can help everyone who’s counting on you today…

1. Take a deep breath and clear your head.

Conquering the ‘overwhelmed feeling’ is your first challenge. A quiet, clear head is needed to better serve yourself and everyone on your team… even if that means you have to fake it most days.

Think about the past few years. You’ve been “eating elephants” for awhile now, one bite at a time. Today’s struggles require the same approach. Empty your head onto a list, and remember you can’t accomplish it all at once. Focus on one challenge and cross it off, one thing at a time.

2. Connect as a real person.

As Covid-19 attacks some people’s lungs and takes other people’s lives, its collateral damage to our financial well-being and mental health will likely be its biggest victim. Just as you’re the leader of your dairy, many of your employees are the leaders within their household. While they’re busy at work all day, chances are their loved ones are getting burned out with kids at home and consuming misinformation from the internet.

In the middle of all this noise, take the time to go up to your employees individually and ask them how they’re holding up at the farm and at home. Ask how their families here and “back home” are hanging in there. Assure each person that you’re in this together and that you’ll all get through it. Crack a smile, and thank them for working with you each day to keep your cows eating, resting, and milking.

3. Communicate clearly and realistically.

As Americans, we look to our national leaders to keep us informed in order to make the best decisions for the people we serve. Your employees need to hear your voice right now too.

Reassure your team that their jobs and our industry will remain essential to keeping our nation moving forward right now. But at the same time, be honest about the current financial realities of the commodity markets. Remind them that now more than ever, you need them to follow protocols that keep animals healthy and to pay attention to details that prevent costly mistakes.

As difficult as the days ahead will likely be, the silver lining is that these challenging times can serve as an opportunity to rally your team and grow closer as everyone fights this together.

And that’s the key in all of this… together.

Together we will stumble. Together we’ll get back up. And together we will overcome.

Keep fighting the good fight. We’re in this together.

Last week, the NFL proved once again that pro football is America’s passion, holding the sports world’s attention for three days as thirty-two teams continued building their roster.

This year, the draft was held in Philadelphia, “The City of Brotherly Love”. But if you tuned into the live coverage, you probably noticed the people in attendance were anything but “loving”.

Every time NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell came onto the stage to announce the next player chosen, the fans booed him so loud and long, it was hard to hear what he was saying.

How did Roger Goodell respond? Whether the constant booing bothered him or not, he didn’t show it. He accepted it. By now, it seems like he fully knows that “it’s part of the job”.

At what point did you learn that being “unpopular” is part of being a leader? More importantly, at what point did you to accept it?

Chances are your kids taught you this lesson the first time you really held your ground at home. Or maybe it was for something you said or did with your team at work. Regardless of how you learned this lesson, congratulations!

Leadership is hard. If you’re doing it right, you already knew that.

Here are three traits all leaders need to possess consistently in order to be more effective:

1. Have wisdom to make the right choice.
2. Have courage to do the right thing.
3. Have self-control to be fair while carrying it out.

Yes, being liked is important, but being respected is essential.

Last year, while taking my niece and nephew on an errand/pizza run the weekend before Easter, my nephew said it didn’t make sense that today was called “Good”.

He reasoned that a violent death was anything but good. Keeping in mind that I was talking with a 9- and 10-year old, I tried to explain to them how incredible and rare it is that someone would suffer and sacrifice His life for them, and for me, and everyone else in the world. I’m not sure that my response was adequate, but they seemed to understand.

I think Tom Thibodeau, professor of Servant Leadership at Viterbo University in LaCrosse, WI, shared a much better perspective. He states that he doesn’t work for the university or even its students. He works for the parents who work long days, pay taxes and bills, and then still choose to part with a check for their children’s education. He asks himself every day whether his effort is worth their sacrifice.

There’s an anonymous quote that goes, “Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you: Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other died for your freedom.”

Today, we remember. We remember sacrifice, suffering, selflessness, generosity, gratitude, and above all… Love.

Every day, you make sacrifices for the people you love and care about; at home, at work, and everywhere in between. Countless people in your life have done the same for you in the past, helping to get you where you’re at today. And now, just like then, people continue to make daily sacrifices to help you continue on your life’s journey.

Whether you look to the Cross or at the faces of those around you, the question we ask ourselves remains as constant now as it was then, “Is my effort worth their sacrifice?”

Of all the people in your life, who holds you to the highest standard? Is it a friend, your significant other, your kids, your parents, a business partner, your employees, your clients?

Ideally, it’s yourself.

Each new day, we should want to be better than we were yesterday, right? Although you probably feel a lot of pressure from outside sources, the real pressure to perform should come from within. The reality however, is that we often feel this pressure coming from the people and the world around us.

Regardless of where this pressure to perform comes from, this pressure you experience is a privilege.

How is pressure a “privilege”?

Whether this pressure comes from yourself or someone else, it exists because someone has identified your potential and has high expectations for who you are and what you do.It means they have a high opinion of you and what you’re capable of achieving.In reality, this pressure is about meeting and exceeding expectations.

Although this pressure might create some anxiety and stress at times, consider it an honor that other people see what you’re capable of and hold you accountable for reaching it. As the saying goes, with great ability comes great responsibility. Ultimately, it’s a privilege to feel the pressure that comes with high standards.

Keep raising your standards, keep embracing the pressure, keep reaching your potential… it’s better than the alternative.

I love March Madness. Actually, that’s not true… I can hardly even watch a whole game.

There’s just too many lead-changes for my heart to handle the NCAA roller coaster. I usually flip back and forth between other games and TV shows, and only tune back in for the last couple minutes at the end.

And even then, each time I turn the game back on and there’s just a few minutes left, I’m always amazed by how much the score changes in such a short amount of time. Of course, one “game minute” is never just one “real minute”… it’s a lot longer than that. And that’s the part that really intrigues me.

Every person out on the court is so focused and intentional with every split second on the clock. They know each decision and action could win or lose the game. As a fan, you know that too. And that’s why you find yourself yelling at the TV to shoot, pass, foul, or call a time-out, right?!

So what do you think someone would yell at the TV if they were watching you work? Would they see that you value your time as much as you want your favorite team to value theirs?

Ironically, many of us have higher expectations for other people than we do for ourselves. We expect that employees and contractors be productive with their time… turning in consistent, quality, hard work. Yet, when we don’t measure up to our own standards, we often accept it .

What would you change today if millions of people were tuning in live to watch you work?

Do that… you’ll probably win.

Call it over-simplification, but I think the following statement is absolutely true.

Most successes and failures are rooted in one word… “Mission”.

Do you know what the mission of your work/company/life is? Do you live it out every day? Does everyone on your team know what it is? Do they follow it?

Having a clear Mission is where it all begins. But that’s only half the battle. The real “mission work” is putting it first. Communicating The Mission and living it every day are the real challenges.

Honestly, I’m not sure I really know mine. I have a lot of “missions”, but if I’m being totally honest, I don’t have one clear, focused Mission.

More teams, companies, and relationships fail because The Mission that was previously the main focus of everyone’s efforts gets forgotten and replaced. Self-serving missions develop, and end up competing with The One True Mission. The Mission, gets replaced by my mission, his mission, her mission, and their mission. Relationships within the team become riddled with stressful conflict and confrontation because everyone is promoting and defending what they think is their, not our biggest priority.

So how do you go from “Mission Impossible” to “Mission Accomplished”?

The first thing to do is a one-time activity… Clarify The Mission. After that, it’s a constant, daily discipline. Every day, ask yourself and your team… “Are my/your/our actions all about putting The Mission first?” If the answer is no, it has to change.

The Mission is bigger than any one person, put The Mission first.

Yesterday a lot of people started a 40-day challenge. During the season of Lent, many of us choose to give up things like chocolate, Facebook, or watermelon. On the surface, fasting is merely the act of intentional sacrifice. But if we look deeper, we’ll probably see that any act of sacrifice is meant to be make us less selfish and create a degree of change in how we think and act.

This month you’ll probably attend a number of dairy conferences and hear a lot of dynamic and inspiring speakers. You’ll drive away from these events energized and ready to take on the challenge of being a better leader and manager.

But then what? Will you actually do anything different that will “stick”? Or… will it just be another short-lived challenge?

Initially, challenges are nothing more than a “good start”. The real value of a challenge is when it becomes and creates a lasting change in your habits.

Let’s say you decide to be more serious about being a better manager.  In order to make that a reality, you’ll need to focus on it for more than a week or two so it becomes a habit. On the surface you’ll focus on the challenge of “following up” with your team every day. Deep down however, you’ll actually need to focus on how your new actions need to become daily habits. Ideally, you’ll create a written plan that states what you’ll do and when you’ll do it. Then, after the first couple weeks of the challenge, you’ll see that you’re successfully creating these new habits.

If you’re truly serious about the new results you desire for yourself over the next 40 days, you’ll see that you truly do possess the power of daily discipline… just like the kind you’re demanding from your employees!

Of course, it’s just a “game”, but the Super Bowl is without question the year’s biggest televised event around the world. It’s hard to imagine that 60 minutes of sports can unite so many people for one day. But it does, and it’s a real opportunity for coaches, players, advertisers, and activists to use this platform to spread their message.

When you’re busy making and enjoying buffalo wings, nachos, and a dozen different dips, it can be hard to notice all that’s being shared on Super Bowl Sunday.

Nonetheless, here are 3 things I learned from watching the big game:

1. Even when the odds are against you, it’s not over until you run out of time. Ignore the naysayers. Work hard. Don’t give up. The score always changes.
2. Don’t get comfortable. Just when you think you’ve got it, someone else is still grinding. Don’t stop. You’ll regret it in the end.
3. Success rises and falls on leadership and teamwork. Everyone has a strategy, not everyone can get their team to follow it. Those who lead and those who follow, win… together.

Finally, two “side” observations… one from an interview before the game, and one from halftime:

First… In a pregame interview with Jimmy Johnson, Patriots’ head coach Bill Belicheck said he always looks for players who demonstrate 3 things… 1. They have a love of football, 2. They work hard, and 3. They are unselfish.

I was completely surprised by all three of the “winning traits” he mentioned. Not because they don’t make sense. But because I just assumed all NFL prospects and players possess all three. It would seem by his answer that that’s not the case. Maybe building a winning dairy team isn’t all that different from building a champion-caliber football team.

Second… During halftime, Lady Gaga had the biggest platform of the night to make a huge political statement. So what did she do with it?

She allowed her songs and their performance to speak for themselves. She chose not to say anything that would clash with any “side”, instead she stayed classy and sought to unite by allowing her body of work, the message of her lyrics, and the diverse people around her to make its own collective statement. Without saying anything divisive, she took a stand for what she believes. It turns out we could all learn a lesson about “actions over words” from Lady G.

As usual, the Super Bowl and all its fanfare lived up to the hype. So, what messages did you take away from the night?

In a world filled with noise, wouldn’t it be great to take a short break and focus on what matters most?   Look no further!

Our first-ever Faith Family Farming Conference is a one-day interfaith conference created for you.

Two weeks from tomorrow, people from throughout our industry will gather in Green Bay to enjoy a day of dynamic speakers, inspirational music, good food, and great friends… Will you be there?!

Not only is this a great event for you and your family members to attend together, it’s also a great opportunity to invite your managers to connect over something other than the daily grind at work.  Who do you think would appreciate the invitation?!