Have you ever found yourself captivated by the sales pitch of a late-night infomercial? As much as I’d like to believe their bold claims, I’m a realist.
Sure, I’d love to get rich while working from home for just a couple hours a day. And who doesn’t want to chop, blend, mix and juice anything in mere seconds for just three easy payments of 30 dollars, and while losing 20 pounds?
But I don’t honestly believe that all of those investments, diets and gadgets are really going to work. Now, I’m not saying that every infomercial is a scam. But they definitely bring to mind the saying, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”
So let’s turn off the TV and think about your dairy. Now, what silver bullet are you currently considering for your business? Is it a new piece of technology?
A new piece of equipment? The promise of a shortcut that will solve a nagging problem? Be honest, do you really believe this will be the solution you’ve been waiting for?
By no means am I saying that every new development and innovation in our industry falls into the “gimmick” category. Truth be told, the agriculture sector is extremely fortunate to have so many people and companies investing in the development of new technologies and solutions every year.
In fact, most of them truly are beneficial. What I am saying, however, is that most of the time, these solutions are rarely a “quick fix.”
Whether you’re producing food, building a house or playing sports, success starts with the basic fundamentals that you learned on your “first day.”
Sure, a trick play can work once in a while. But if you’re truly going to be successful day in and day out, you need to be good at doing all the “little things” right on a consistent basis.
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t sweat the details.” Yeah, sometimes that’s true. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s all about the details.
They might seem small, trivial and barely worth the “Top Level’s” time. But the reality is that these “minor details” are a “major deal.”
Not convinced? Consider the following … Preventing sick calves almost always starts with washing buckets and handling colostrum better. Making your parlor more efficient typically starts by focusing on how quickly seconds add up, not hours.
Reducing breakdowns and equipment downtime usually starts with a basic maintenance program. And getting people to care about what’s important to you starts by showing that you care about what’s important to them.
Here’s the kicker … In most cases, you already know what you need to do. But chances are, the real solution requires that you commit more time and effort than you really want to. And just like your employees, you figure there’s gotta be an easier, faster alternative.
So what do you do? You ignore what you already know to be true, and you try “cheating reality” with a shortcut. You figure, “Hey, it’s worth a try … this might actually work!”
But year after year, you find out that it doesn’t. And every day that goes by, you miss out on the full benefits of the real solution.
The next time you’re checking out all the possible “easier” solutions to your ongoing problems, how about starting with the fundamentals that need to be improved first?
Once you have the fundamentals under control, you’ll be ready to capitalize on all the other benefits that the “next best thing” will surely provide.
Until then … no shortcuts, no silver bullets. Nothing beats hard work and solid fundamentals. The real solution is simple; start there. PD
Tom Wall
Dairy Coach
Dairy Interactive, LLC
