Through some scheduling changes, last Tuesday afternoon, I found myself with a block of time with nothing on the calendar. I was tempted to jump back into my normal pattern of catching up on emails and tackling my long “TO DO” list. Perhaps because I had just finished a long Zoom call and the thought…
Have you ever felt like you’re playing in a game rigged against you? It doesn’t take much reading of the news these days to feel like the deck is stacked. I had the pleasure of listening to both Oakland A’s General Manager, Billy Beane, and Michael Lewis, the author of the book, Moneyball, talk about…
Everyone has a monkey mind. Like the Curious George of our childhoods, our monkey mind is always playing, wandering off, and often getting us into trouble. Some peoples’ monkey minds think about the past, ruminating over missed opportunities, real or perceived slights, or how they might have done something different. Others like me focus on…
Our company recently hit a key safety milestone. We’re far from perfect but we’re making progress. As our team discussed ways to celebrate, I was reminded of my time as a peacekeeper with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1999 and how hard we worked just to make sure nothing happened. My thoughts this week…
While the farmer and the soil rests over winter, those of us in the ag supply chain meet. A lot. I can’t tell you how many supplier meetings I’ve attended over the past few months, but it’s been a lot. Three stand out. I remember them because while each company is financially successful, produces quality…
Stuff happens. Sometimes, despite the hard work and best intentions of everyone involved, things go wrong. Murphy (of Murphy’s Law fame) finds a way and we come up short. And if we’re trying to do hard stuff, we’re going to come up short more often. We should do it anyway. I was reminded of that…
[WARNING: This week’s article contains swearing. I left it in the story because I felt it was a key piece of the message.] Sh*t roles downhill. I was reminded of that this past week, along with the role all of us can play in both starting and stopping it. I first learned the lesson at ROTC Advanced…
Several years ago, I was bike riding up a Colorado mountain pass as part of a large bike tour. The views were spectacular but my 200+ pound body was struggling with the long climb and thin atmosphere. I had just passed a road sign indicating the top of the pass was 12 miles away. A…
I woke up last Friday feeling better than I thought I might. Thursday night had been just the second in my own bed in nearly two full weeks. Our Labrador, Juno, who seemed a bit distant the night before, was her go-lucky self. I was more conflicted. On the one hand, I was elated but exhausted. …
My thoughts this week are about pride and humble pie. The pride comes from our team hosting two successful conferences last week. Between the two, we covid tested and hosted over 500 people and hosted four full days of intense training. The sessions were well taught, and the feedback has been great. It takes a tremendous effort by…
