Prairie Lessons
Volume #20 - May 2001
For those of us in the Northern hemisphere, it's summer and summer means vacation. In this newsletter, I'd like to share with you some of the lessons I learned while traveling with my sister through the western US.
We drove across the farmlands of Iowa, the prairies and Badlands of South Dakota, the sage brush plains and mountains of Wyoming, through the open spaces of Idaho, and followed the Oregon Trail to Portland, where I was scheduled to coach women at the annual conference of the Business and Professional Women/USA.
Our first stop was the Badlands. At the entrance to this eerily majestic landscape there was an original sod cabin preserved from the 1800s. Naturally, there was a gift store on the site and we purchased two different books containing the stories and letters of pioneer women.
When you see first hand what women who came before us had to live in, it makes you extremely appreciative and grateful to be living with today's conveniences. Mud walls just don't turn me on. But when you read about the work the women had to do, you realize that some things don't change - women, then and now, work long hours and juggle lots of different chores. Our work today might be less physically arduous than it was then, but the characteristics that determine whether we're successful are still the same.
Here are three lessons I gleaned from their stories. (These lessons apply to men too, but, the books I read were about women.)
LESSON ONE: It takes hard work and determination to succeed. Whether you're harnessed behind a mule trying to get a garden to grow in the prairie, or you're trying to get your sales people to link with the customers, it's the ability to stick-to-it and persevere that often determines success. It also helps to like what you're doing and to love a challenge. The pioneer women who succeeded, had strong hearts and minds - they believed in themselves and they weren't afraid of hard work. They weren't going to let tornadoes, dust, insects, hail, snow or snakes win. They were determined to conquer the odds and make their farms and ranches successful.
LESSON TWO: It takes courage to venture forth into the unknown, but to succeed you need to have good information. The more knowledge you have the more prepared you'll be to handle tough situations, head in the direction, and make correct decisions. In some cases, then and now, knowledge can mean life or death. Back then, it was important to know that oxen go crazy when they smell buffalo. When oxen, who were pulling the covered wagons, caught the scent of buffalo, they were likely to stampede, threatening the lives of the people in the wagon train. Pioneers had to know what was up ahead and devise strategies for handling their teams. Today, if you want to keep your business alive, it's just as important to know what drives your employees and your customers crazy. How can you keep them happy, satisfied and moving in the direction you want them to go? What do you need to know about market trends and what strategies do you have lined up to help you manage the unexpected?
LESSON THREE: This is a mantra that I repeat over and over, but the lesson truly hit home reading about these women - you simply can't succeed alone. Separated by miles and miles of wilderness and open space, people relied on their neighbors. People came together in good times and bad to support each other. They accepted each other's weaknesses and valued each other's strengths. It took all kinds of talents and skills to operate their homesteads, to provide food and necessities, and to establish new communities. People needed each other and they knew it. What are you doing to help the people in your organization work together more effectively? Does your culture value and recognize the contributions of all individuals? Does it provide an environment where people can come together in support of each other? Sustainable success comes when people are committed to each other and to their goals.
COACHING QUESTIONS
- How determined are you to succeed?
- What keeps you from hanging in there when the going gets tough?
- What kind of information do you need to handle situations in your workplace?
- How can you get better, more timely information?
- How can you use that information in more effective ways?
- What do you need to do to keep your customers happy and moving in the direction you want them to go?
- What do you need to do to keep your employees happy and moving in the direction you want them to go?
- How effectively does your team work together?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your team members?
- What can you do to get them to appreciate each other more?
Copy © 2000 Virginia O'Brien All s Reserved
