Always Growing by Jones Loflin

Author:Jones Loflin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: motivation, leadership, time management, culture, leadership development, horticulture, manager skills, coaching and mentoring, change management and leadership, leadership and team building coaching
Publisher: Jones Loflin

CUTTING BACK TO GROW FORWARD

David next visited Kelly in late November. He wasn’t exactly sure what they would be doing since the growing season was over, and the retail store would be the only area in operation.

Driving to Kelly’s place, David reflected on how far he had come with his division. They were on the verge of their most successful quarter in two years. Keith was still there but talking more and more about retirement. Chris was more excited than ever because his technicians had the most improved customer satisfaction scores of all divisions in the country… and the executive VP called him to express his gratitude.

All of this success, however, had not come without a price. Jerome left, and Jordan, his replacement, was taking more time to get up to speed than he had planned. Felicia and Liam were showing signs of fatigue from the frantic pace of the past few months, and he was afraid he might lose them to opportunities that weren’t so demanding or draining.

Reflecting on Kelly’s success in her business, David wondered if she had any ideas about how he could reduce the strain on his team while also helping them continue to excel.

As he walked toward Kelly’s office, David noticed she was on the phone, so he took a seat at her conference table. She finished up her call and sat down next to David.

“Good to see you, sis,” David said.

“You, too, David,” Kelly replied.

David noticed the wistful nature in her voice and said, “What’s wrong? You aren’t your normal chipper self today.”

Kelly took a deep breath and regained her composure. “Oh, I just got off the phone with a produce wholesaler. They had heard about my success growing an heirloom tomato and asked if I would be willing to start producing a large number of tomatoes for them. The amount of money they’re willing to pay is pretty incredible.”

“Congratulations, Kelly,” David said. “What great news!”

“Maybe… but I had to turn him down,” Kelly replied.

“Why?” David asked.

“My primary purpose in growing those heirloom tomatoes is for my local customers,” Kelly answered, shifting some papers on the table. “I’m just not ready to make that much of a major adjustment in my business plan right now. I decided it was much better to tell him no now than to create havoc for myself and my team later.”

“In other words,” David replied, “you had to say no to something so you could say yes to something else.”

“Almost correct,” Kelly replied. “Being a commercial grower has taught me that you sometimes have to say no to things of lesser importance so you can say yes to things of greater importance. I could spend my time and energy on a thousand different things, but I wouldn’t grow anything well.”

As David reflected on her words, Kelly stood up and said, “In fact, I think I can give you a pretty good visual of what I’m talking about while we work today.”

“Work?” David replied. “I thought work was over for the season.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.