What Old and Buzzman are saying is correct, unfortunately. Don't ask how I know.
When I worked for PCA, I had a dairyman customer who wasn't doing well. The obvious reason was that he was a box of rocks (inheriting a farm isn't merit-based).
One time, he asked me to come out and go over everything with him, and try to come up with ideas on how he could improve. "Now be honest", he said.
Well, even I wasn't stupid enough to tell him that the main problem was operator cluelessness. But I did go over some stuff with him- one thing I recall is that he spent his time feeding cows and heifers (with a cumbersome enough system that it pretty much took all his time), while hired men milked the cows. I even tried to stroke him a little, by saying "You're the one who has a stake in how those cows are milked, and have the experience to do it right." Of course, both of us knew that the reason he was the "outside man" is that he hated milking.
I hadn't even got back to the office before he called my boss and said "I never want to see that guy again." Boss called my in, I told him the story. He just smiled, and then told me how the world worked. "When someone says give it to me straight", they probably don't mean it. But my biggest mistake was doing this in front of his wife. Turns out I was saying the exact same stuff as wife had been telling him, and once I left, she really started in on him. Boss said if you ever are put in that position again, tell the guy, "lets go out an look around, and we'll see what we come up with", even if you don't care a whit about whats out there. That way, the guy can filter it the way he wants, and you're not insulting him in front of his wife.
Pretty much the same way in the chain of command. Sam Walton could make it work because you can bet he didn't rat out the stock boy on what he said about his local supervisors. But most places are slaves to the "chain of command", and you get the results that Buzzman and several others spoke of.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Women and Tractors - More Views From the Farmer's Wife - by Teri Burkholder. The top ten reasons why the judges wouldn't let you participate in the stock antique tractor pull: Hey, this is stock! It came with that V8 in it! That "R" on my tires stands for "really old" not radial! Blue gas? We thought it was a pretty color! What wire hooked to my throttle?
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
