I spent about 8 hours facilitating a planning meeting with Dairy Farmers of the Southeast United States. This dying breed has struggled with changing demographics and shifting trends in the market place. Their margins continue to shrink, and the challenges to survival continue to mount.
They are simple people with simple, yet hard working, lives. They don’t dream of getting rich. Maintaining the status quo is their new normal.
What I expected to be a challenging day, turned out to be a rewarding one. They were receptive, engaged, willing to listen, and to learn. These simple folks are truly men of the earth. I wish their simplicity would rub off on the spin doctors who spin tales of grandeur when the sky around us is falling.
About Hemant Rustogi