Communication, Competence, and Direction
#bfrdpwy #aginternship #RightRisk
A large part of this week was about learning to understand different perspectives. We live in a world that is unique in the aspect that we all share the same place but view it with our own lens. Our experiences in work and life help to build that frame. I had the privilege to attend a three day ranching for profit intensive in Buffalo at the start of the week. Besides business management and financial planning, the main theme of that education that I pulled was communication.
Effective and early communication is a strong driver in getting things done and to the mission you want to achieve. On our own place this is one piece of a mosaic in the next steps forward. Effective management is mission based and achieved by a detailed vision. Getting back to the ranch for a couple days we got to get some horses shod, fence fixed, cows moved, etc. The rest of the week I got to head down to the other ranch where I got to get under some more horses and take in some new country.
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This week also made me question the idea that more grass means better grazing. There can be all kinds of feed in a pasture, but if distribution isn’t there, that doesn’t do much good. Mineral is also a valuable tool. I also think people sometimes underestimate how much planning goes into getting cattle to use a pasture the way you want. From the outside, it can look like somebody just turned cows out and let them go. The work that goes into water systems, fencing, collars, and trailing cows around, reveal there is more thought behind it than that.
It’s easy to compress the week into tasks but without those jobs and work, a goal is just an idea. Work when in it’s right place is reaching out towards and for a purpose. A good manager is competent enough to solve thousands of little problems a week in the business, but must maintain the drive to keep that work in line with what he sees on the business. Looking back on the week I see the utmost importance in being driven, if not then it’s aimlessly wondering. I don’t think that means having a detailed plan for each circumstance but it does mean traveling the direction you set for.
A large part of this is competence and skill which I am lacking in a lot of areas. A large part of this internship is refining skills that must be there to accomplish what I set out to do. You do not need to be an expert horseman or mechanic to run a place; those who are may be ahead or behind their neighbor (also based on perspective). What I am trying to say is there are many aspects of a leader, the point being identifying what you need for your operation and maintaining the right mind to get there, looking with the work but not for the work. Defining purpose behind operation is essential to maintaining drive.
Submitted by: Jace_Miller
Edits by: GrowinG Internship Team
