"You don’t need to help him with that. That’s his job. You have other work to do.”

I recall once hearing a dairy producer say those words to a farm employee. A deliveryman had 20 bags of feed on a pallet that needed to be unloaded, and the farm employee was going to use a skid steer to take the pallet to where the feed needed to go. Without his help, the deliveryman would have to unload and carry each bag about 30 yards to its destination.

The owner’s instruction is above. How would it be on your farm?

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I recall from my days in veterinary practice that some clients extended themselves to make my job more pleasant, and some did not. On some farms, the animals I was to examine were restrained in a clean work area, and a cooperative, competent person was there to help. On others, the cows were running loose in the freestalls, and I would have to go find someone to help me. That person sometimes seemed resentful of being bothered. Again, what would this situation look like on your farm?

All of us need help from others to operate our businesses. Many times, those people make choices regarding how much they do for us and how careful they are in doing them.

Let’s return to the man delivering feed. Let’s say there are three bags already where the new bags are to be placed. You would like the deliveryman to move those bags, then place the new ones, and then put the old ones on top. Will he do that while working by himself, carrying each new bag 30 yards? Or suppose a bag tears. Will he take time to tape over the tear? I suggest he is more likely to do these things if the farm employee were allowed to make his job easier with the skid steer.

Going back to my veterinary practice years, I would like to claim I always did my very best for every animal on every farm. But the fact is, I did not. Sometimes I was behind schedule and took “shortcuts” to get the job done. Was this more likely on the first farm above or the second? I think you know the answer.

Consider your relationship with your banker. Are you friendly and cooperative, or do you spend most of your time complaining? When they need information from you, do you get it to them quickly, or do they need to contact you several times? There may come a time when approving a loan for you is not cut and dry. Do you think the final decision may be affected by the banker’s experience in working with you?

We can extend this concept to family members and employees. I recall working for a dairy farmer named Swing Williams in high school, and he caught me doing something dangerous and stupid. I expected him to rebuke me severely. Instead, he said, “Charlie, you are far too valuable to take a chance like that. We are never in so much of a hurry that you need to take a risk like that.”

Wow. I guarantee you from that moment forward, I tried to do the best I could for Swing Williams.

I sincerely believe that our lives, and the lives of those with whom we interact, would be much improved if we consistently followed the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

If you were the feed deliveryman, would you appreciate help with the bags? In return, would you be more committed to doing the best for that customer? Apply the same thought to the other situations.