Horses, Riders and Organizations

Most people know next to nothing about horses.  Many know simply kick to go and pull to stop.  Some of them have been on those vacation, dude ranch trail rides.  There's probably a string of 20 to 20 horses that are ridden twice a day for four hours each time as the resident cowboy leads them on a trail.  If you have been on one of these, then you will probably remember what happened when the horse in front of you got a little too far ahead.  Without your permission or awareness of what was going to happen, your horse decided to hurry to catch up with the horse in front.  Once caught up, your horse returned to his previous pace.

Who had control of that horse?  Certainly not you.  Your horse may as well have been carrying a pack of camping supplies for all you mattered to him.  The only person in control of this follow the leader show was the cowboy guide.  Its a nice, safe way to see the country side that you would not see from your car window.  Please do not confuse this kind of experience as having any relevance to riding horse to accomplish any other kind of job.  You could just as easily have stuck a quarter in the electric one at the grocery store.

Seeing horse and rider connected as a team is eye opening.  The rider that has the notion that he's the boss and the horse will do what he wants or else is the rider that will never achieve all that is available from any horse.  What the rider should be searching for is way beyond compliance.  He should be looking for the volunteer effort.  He gets the voluntary effort when he is considerate of the horse.

Let me illustrate it this way.  Horses can be herd bound.  That simply means that they get overly concerned for their safety and well being when they are physically removed from their herd.  This can be a dangerous situation for the horseman.  There are two ways to handle this.  The horseman that is concerned for the horse might just listen to his horse and say, "Okay, we'll do what you want."  He just lets the horse go, and they gallop back to the herd.  The horseman concerned with breaking this behavior will pull all sorts of disciplinary antics in hope of breaking the horse's will to be with the herd.  In so doing, does he gain the trust of the horse?  Not even close.

Consider horse and rider as an analogy for interactions between the organization and the manager.  The manager is the rider and the horse is the organization.  The two are going to attempt to get some job done.  I don't care if its selling insurance, running a chemical plant,  building a bridge, etc.  The manager's approach to it will either garner trust and a voluntary effort or minimal compliance with his expectations.  I submit that every manager would do a lot better if he gets with his or her organization to work together to accomplish their purpose.

I know it is better.  I've employed just exactly this approach in several organizations that were behind schedule, over-budget, operating unsafely, and/or missing milestones or production commitments.  In each case, milestones were met ahead of schedule, production commitments were exceeded, projects came in under budget, and the safety metrics improved dramatically.  In a couple of cases, I felt that if it was possible to wade across the Amazon that my people would have carried me.  It is a very satisfying experience.

Cows and Organizations Don't Talk

The title says it.  Few will argue that cows talk in a language intelligible to man.  They do communicate.  It takes a little time to learn the language.  I had a cow that lifted up her head every time I climbed on her side of the fence.  It made no difference if I was 50 feet away or 500.

That is one piece of information that you better not ignore.  If you have never seen this and your cows do it, then I suggest that you get out of the cattle business.  I say this because one day a sow is going to catch you in your unaware state and charge you and maybe try to grind your atoms into the dirt.  It shows more than concern that you are in her flight zone or approaching her fight zone.  She's certainly communicating that concern, but she is also sizing you up and watching for you to present an easy target.

When cows moo when you are trying to move them in a corral system, then more often than not they are stressed about it.  You'll see cows mounting and riding one another.  Calves will do it, too.  Packers (factory butchers) have instituted a no moo rule.  They strive to move cattle toward slaughter without stressing them.

For his own safety and for efficiency, its incumbent upon the cowboy to learn what his cattle are saying.  It becomes a body language reading exercise.

Organizations also don't speak in any intelligible language.  Yes, all individuals in the organization do speak an intelligible language, but the organization does not.  The higher the level you rise in management will mean that you must become better at reading and interpreting the language that it does speak.  If there's a lot of activity that reminds you of a bunch cows or calves mounting and riding one another, then you better wake up to the fact that the organization is under stress and will not perform anywhere their peak ability.  You ight even have an unsafe situation developing.  If you ignore the signs, then something bad will happen.  Just accept the fact that you (or your boss) are pushing too hard.

Another way to think about it is from the analog of tracking animals or people.  The best way to learn to track is to watch the tracks being made.  After you've learned to associate the certain patterns with certain activities then you will know what the animal was up to when you couldn't watch the tracks being made.

Organizations also leave tracks.  It may be in the form of safety statistics.  It might be employee concerns.  It maybe a significant number of missed milestones or it may be over budget.  The tracks maybe read in your own mood or mood changes.

Look around you.  What is your organization telling you?  What kind of tracks are they leaving?  What's the cause?  And how are you going to fix it and prevent it from happening again?

Herd Health

Veterinarian visits cost money.  Now its not as expensive for a vet to work on a cow as it is a dog or cat.  While vet costs have gone up, they have not kept pace with human health costs.  Nevertheless, vet costs can be avoided if not now then in the future.

You can do-it-yourself.  In fact, there is much that you should do for yourself.  Cattle should be vaccinated for the diseases to which they will be exposed.  This includes what young calves will encounter as well as their mothers.  Typically, two types are given: clostridials and those related to pneumonia.  Heifers are vaccinated for brucelosis.  Ted Turner's buffaloes were infected with this one..  Only vets may innoculate for brucelosis.

You might even learn to do those things that are associated with pregnancy.  You could learn to preg check for yourself, but in my home state only vets are allowed to diagnose pregnancy.  It involves inserting your hand rectally and palpating the cervix and uterus from the rectum.  A similar maneuver is required for artificial insemination.

Cows will have trouble giving birth, including:

• calves too big for the birth canal
• one front leg slightly back (hold up your hand but leave your elbow at your side to get the idea)
• one or both front legs all the way bac
• head turned back
• reverse (hind legs first)
• breach (butt first).

I'm sure anybody can learn to handle the first three, but the last two must be quick since the umbilical cord will be torn before the head gets to open air.  The fourth one can mean you stick your arm in all the way to the shoulder in order to get the head out.  If the calf is way too big, then Caesarian is called for.  Let the vet handle it.

Birthing complications are inevitable, but they can be minimized by selection of cow and bull.  When we first got started our calves averaged 90 pounds at birth.  Then I started emphasizing the lower birth weight EPD, and now our average is 75 pounds.  In twelve years:

• I averaged helping 3 births per year (100+ cow herd)
• One Caesarian
• Two uterine prolapses
• One vaginal prolapse
• Vet helped on three calf births.

This is because I cut back on calf birth weight by genetic selection.

One practice that I developed was to sell cows and heifer calves after weaning that got sick.  The fact that they got sick is an indication that there was some problem with the cow that prevented her from being productive in my pastures or with what I fed them in the winter.  Many cattlemen spend time doctoring calves in the spring, and the antibiotics are not cheap.  In my case, I keep the antibiotics on hand just in case, but the bottles usually expire before they are used.  In the last 8 years I have bought two bottles of penicillin and two bottles of a more stringent antibiotic.  All four bottles expired.  Every time you doctor a calf you place yourself at risk with the mother's protective instincts.

Engineering managers must perform similar kinds of functions for their organizations.  Like machinery, they require preventative maintenance.  This can take many forms, but may include continuing education, celebration upon achieving some significant milestone, or involving some in a team sport (golf, softball, basketball, volleyball).  Perhaps the best is complementing individuals for well done aspects of their assignments.  Criticism rarely works positive, long term results.  You must find some genuine aspect for which to complement each individual.  Not only is this preventative maintenance, but its also performance enhancement.

You will have corrective maintenance.  Some people will not succeed with some aspect of your program.  It will pay you to find a place in which they can excel.  It may be a different role in your organization.  It may be outside of your organization.  When the situation allows, then take the time to find the right kind of place for them.  It may be that the work you have simply does not challenge them.  Don't put it off.  It will pay dividends even years later.  Termination should be the last alternative for an under-performing individual.

Fixing a Goat Problem

The bride (my wife of many years) wanted goats.  I claim no ownership of them, but I still get to care for them.

There are a few people that have three or four goats that don't want to have a billie to breed them.  The really do stink.  Some friends and neighbors will either rent a billie from us or bring their nannies to be bred.

One such friend brought a nanny.  She considered people to be part of her herd.  The first night she spent with us I came home from a meeting and she had gotten out of the pen.  She saw me and came running.  She followed me right up on the porch.  I put her back in the goat pen, and headed back to the house.  I got about 50 feet and she was beside me, so I put her on a barn for the night that I knew she couldn't escape.  With goats the saying goes: If it'll hold water, then it'll hold a goat.

The next morning I put her back in with the goats, but later in the day she was out again.  Sometimes I subscribe to making the right thing easy and the wrong thing difficult.  So I got my cow dog to chase her around  for about 15 seconds, while I opened the gate.  My dog chased her back into the pen.  She hasn't gotten out since then.  She figured that it was safer with the strange goats then outside where a dog might bother her again.

This reminds me of a project that I once led.  It was successful enough to land my picture on the front page of the company newsletter.  During a visit to the men's room, I found a copy of the newsletter on the floor.  I commented to my secretary that you knew you were a little famous when you found your picture on the men's room floor at work.  One of the staff members decided to take this a step further with a practical joke.  She had a copy posted in all the bathrooms in the building.

I'm not beyond enjoying a practical joke, even when its on me.  But I was mindful that clients were often in the building and might take mild offense at this.  I could have been a little perturbed with her, and made her take them all down.  Instead I played a little practical joke myself.  I walked into her office (she was out) and told her office mate that I had received a call from the land lord notifying me of the newsletter posted in the bathrooms, and that he considered that in poor taste.  I spun on my heel and walked out.

About an hour later, she comes boiling into my office.  She was beside herself apologizing for her mistake, and told me that she had taken them all down.  After letting her stew for a little bit, I told her, "That's okay, because I didn't get a phone call from the land lord."  She hit me on the shoulder and we had a good laugh about it all.

The point: Be creative with people and organizations.  Try to develop another skill or two for your tool bag. You needn't be heavy handed in every situation.  Sometimes the soft approach not only gets the message across, but also strengthens the team and increases confidence in one another.

Less is More and Faster

One time I arrived at summer pasture and not one single cow was on the correct side of the fence, and they were about two miles from where the should have been.  I was alone and had no horse, and getting one meant that I'd have to drive a hundred miles round trip.  What would you do?  With the typical herd, you'd turn around and go get a horse and some help.

I parked the pickup and walked toward the cow farthest from where she was supposed to be.  Four miles (as the crow flies), two hours, and two gates later I climbed back into the pickup.  All 150 cows, calves and bulls were back where they needed to be.  I'd had a nice, brisk walk on a wonderful summer day.  I was cooled off by a brief afternoon thunder shower.  There were no ruffled feathers among friends that I night have asked to help.  In less time with less fuel, and much lower stress for all involved, the unplanned event became an opportunity to work with the cows under different circumstances.

Because I had worked with the cattle from the ground, I knew that I could handle this without any other human help.  The conclusion, safer is more efficient.

Lets consider the typical engineering organization that has somehow gotten itself where it shouldn't be - behind schedule, over budget, unhappy customers, or some unplanned, safety significant event occurred.  In my experience, the boss reverts to a stressed response.  He or she becomes demanding, and may say something like, "Either you get this done or you'll be a foot and a half shorter and out of a job."  Maybe that was said because that is what was said to him.  No matter.

Now is not the time to abandon what works.  It will damage or destroy the trust you've built with the group. Piling on the pressure will not get the group back to where it belongs faster.  In fact, it will probably delay it.  Whether or not you're the new manager, you have an opportunity.  You have the opportunity to build a stronger team.  Together you can look forward to saying to yourselves that we were able to overcome adversity.

Gather the group, with the group decide what to do to get back, and work together to do it.  Maybe you need to assure yourself that the schedule does not represent the way the work needed to be done.  When its all done you will have a group of people that not only weathered the storm but excelled.  You will trust your people and they will trust you.

When you adopt the defensive approach of piling pressure on the organization, you will likely activate the self defense instincts of one or more individuals.  You lose the predictability of their behavior.  You won't know what to expect.  Some will come to a near stand still.  Some will find a better place to work.  The organizational productivity will decline.

Now take a few moments to consider what you would do when things aren't going quite right.  What can you do now that would prevent those things from happening or mitigate their impact?  If you're in the middle of a nasty situation, then sit back and imagine what you want your group to look like after you've waded through all the negative energy.  Will you all be proud of what you accomplished?

Using Cow Behavior

There are a few books on this subject. Read them if you wish, but there's nothing like learning on your own. You need two concepts to get started. One is the concept of flight zone and the other is how to make use of it.

Think of a circle with its center centered on top of the cow's shoulders about straight in line with where the front leg attaches to the body. The radius of this circle varies, and it differs from one cow to another. Its radius relates to the cow's comfort with the proximity of a human. This circle defines what is called the flight zone. Another circle centered in the same location, but is of smaller radius. It is called the fight zone. When a man enters the flight zone the cow will likely move to adjust the circle to the point where the human is some distance away from the cow, and is usually at least as far away as the flight zone radius. The fight zone is that circle within which a man may cause a self defense response from the cow, and a dangerous situation exists. The cow is threatened to the point that it will respond with any number of possibilities, but usually is prepared to take whatever action to protect itself. The cattleman should never enter into this zone if he is at all concerned for his safety.

You can make use of this response by where you approach and enter into the flight zone. Draw a line that is normal to the cow's spine through the center of the previous circle. If you enter into the flight zone toward the hind quarters of the cow, then the cow will likely move forward. If toward the head, then the cow may back up or turn around to leave. With this behavior, the cattleman has within his grasp both the steering wheel and gas pedal to get a herd of cows to go in a direction.

The next step is crucial. Its what you do after you get 'em moving. The usual approach is to try to get them moving faster. The cowboy tries to push them, and so he moves deeper into the flight zone and approaches the fight zone. The cows are rewarded for doing the right thing with even more pressure.

This cattleman behavior comes from our high pressure society. The thought is that I've got about 15 minutes to get this done, so all the energy comes out and the cows scatter. Its faster to approach it with the actual attitude of, “I've never seen this take longer than 2 days, so I'll be here until its done.”

Once the cows are moving, the correct approach is to increase the distance from the cows. Reward them for doing the right thing by decreasing pressure. They're headed in the right direction, so give them room to pick their path and speed.

You might ask, “So you know how to move cows. How is this at all related to engineering?” The answer lies in what you weren't taught in engineering school. Communication. Engineers come out of university with a great ability to analyze and solve concrete, science based problems. We aren't taught how to communicate. The majority of fresh engineering graduates that I have observed or managed are poor communicators. Designing, building, starting up, and operating plants is mostly about communication with other people .

The next part of the learning curve for the engineer is when he/she has done a good job and selected to lead a group of engineers. Now instead of sizing pipe, selecting a reactor or determining how to control a step in a process, he is responsible for getting a group of people to accomplish those things on schedule and within budget. In addition learning how to communicate through on-the-job training, now he must learn how lead people. He graduated from being an engineer into engineering.

When I say integrating lessons learned from ranching into engineering, you should now know what I'm talking about. The lessons relate to working with a group of people to accomplish something that has value.

In the case of getting cattle to start and continue moving in the chosen direction, there is a better way. So it is with people in general and engineers specifically. The foregoing posts relate to how an engineer might approach establishing a cattle operation. Now, I'm going to get to the heart of heart of the matter.

Safe Cattle

Driving down the road in cattle country you'll see herds of cattle grazing or laying contentedly chewing cud. To the inexperienced, they might conclude that all cows behave the same. They eat, drink, sleep and eliminate waste. Let me assure you that all cows do not behave the same way.

Cows have a pecking order. There are leaders and followers in every herd. Bulls walk about half as fast as cows. Each individual cow responds differently to the same presence of a human. Generally speaking, there is a difference in how breeds behave. Some are more docile than others. This usually occurs because some owners have eliminated cows exhibiting bad behavior from their herds, thus only the more gentle individuals survive to pass on their genetic legacy to their offspring.

Studies show that docile cattle are more productive. Calves from docile cows gain more weight and remain more healthy than their less docile herd mates. Docile cattle are not only safer to be around, but are enjoyable to be around.

There is one time during every year when even the most docile may not be docile. That time is the first few days after a cow births her new calf. My friendliest cow turns into a raging maniac for two or three days after calving. She remains friendly to me, but not my wife nor anybody else.The goal is to protect the new calf. After a few days they get back to normal.

Bulls present a different problem. Yes, they should be gentle, too. Like stallions they are way more attentive to what is going on than the female. Bulls remain cognizant of what goes on with every cow and with every other bull that is in their area. They may fight anything that challenges their opportunity to breed a cow in season. If you get on their side of the fence then you must pay attention to what is going on around you, too. A bull may get the idea that you are competition even if you have scratched him a hundred times before.

The cattleman must recognize cattle which are not docile. Cows exhibit signs that you have triggered their self defense instincts. I met some Navajo cowboys one time that had difficulty getting within a mile of their cattle without triggering the flight instinct in their cattle. In very docile cattle the zone of concern can be a few feet.

It is my policy that there be no “mean” animals on my place. When I recognize that an animal is quick to express concern and displays any aggressive behavior, then that animal is sold as soon as possible. For example, one cow's head would come up when I climbed over a fence to her side when I was still over a hundred yards away. She then acted like she would attack me if she caught me not paying attention. She was gone within two weeks. Incidentally, she calved just before I was going to take her, and she failed to mother her calf, and the calf died. Aggressive cows do not make good mothers.

Cows, like horses, accurately read body language. Cows know when you're just checking them out and when you intend for them to go someplace else.

It is essential that the cattleman perform a frequent mental checkup on the current hazards associated with his cattle, and take stock of the condition of the systems upon which he depends to remain safe and which keep his cattle safe, too. You never know when trustworthy animals will become untrustworthy for unknown reasons.

The most hazardous job performed on the ranch is separating cattle from one another. It can be done with some kind of physical barrier system, but often it is performed by the cattleman in some kind of pen. The actual hazard is greatest the first time you do it. Soon the cattle learn what you're doing, and figure out how to work with you. The cattleman learns how to communicate this to his cattle. Once both cattle and cattleman learn the language then it can be a safe task. In my opinion, this is where a herd of docile cattle shines. The cattleman enters the flight zone in a way that communicates which way he wants the cow to move. He never enters the fight zone. My cows never enter the fight mode even if I'm very close. They have learned from actions what is expected of them, and they often move to where I want them long before I get there. This is training.

Trying to cut one out of the herd is the most challenging. You can see this in cutting horse competitions. Unlike the competition, you don't have to do it against a clock. The herd will actually help you. You'll run them around trying to get the one separated from the rest. The rest will soon figure out which one is causing them stress, and will force the one out.

I started training a group of bull calves. I put my stock trailer outside my arena gate (200'x100'). Then I began to work with them so that they figured out that I wanted them to get in the trailer. The first time all got on the trailer, I was about 50 feet away. Then I moved the trailer inside the arena, but against a fence, and proceeded to load them there. I, then, moved the trailer to the center of the arena and loaded them. In the end I could put the trailer anywhere, let them into the arena, and they would run and load into the trailer and wait for me to close the gate. It paid dividends when I had to load a lame bull in the middle of a thousand acre pasture without a horse. It took a half hour, but we got it done. (Of course, I looked around in pride at my accomplishment, but there was no audience. LOL)

Part of this has to do with the attitude of the cattleman. If he approaches it with the notion that he must get it done in five minutes then the cow or bull will sense his stress level and it won't get done. But if the cattleman approaches it with the idea that it never takes more than two days to do this then he's relaxed and the cow or bull will know that this is a safe operation. So just relax, and everything will be smooth.

The best way to move cattle is to have them follow you. I started training them in this way by yelling to them, “Come on, girls.” I only used this when I had some place that they would consider better for them to be – like water or fresh pasture. All it takes is for your lead cow to catch on, and the rest will follow. You only have to make sure to stay out of their way when they realize that the new place is better .

While its better for them to follow, its best when they get the idea themselves. When they see that the gate is open, then all it takes is one to go through and the rest will likely run after her. Sometimes this happens when they see you open the gate and move away. Sometimes it happens when you've pushed them to where they could see that it was open.

I insist on gentle cattle. Training them makes the future jobs much easier. Others like brand inspectors and veterinarians will appreciate it, too. The results speak for themselves. We have never had a close call with our cattle. I had to deal with a prolapsed uterus on a cow in the middle of a pasture one time. I was on foot and placed a rope over her head, and tied her to my pickup. The vet put a rope on her hind legs, and we completed the task without incident. I took the rope off her head and she walked over to her newborn calf. Gentle, trained cattle are safe cattle.

One last thing for this post – be careful of who you let “train” your cattle. Friends and neighbors will want to help you. Cattle learn from every human interaction. More often than not friends and neighbors don't help, because they have a different style. They're probably used to the whooping, hollering and whistling that only serves to pile stress on to the herd, but is the common way of moving cattle. You may have to train your friends and neighbors how you do it, or just say, “Thanks, but no thanks.”

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