CALF_News_December_2019_January_2020

44 CALF News • December 2019 | January 2020 • www.calfnews.net Beyond the Ranch Gate Communication S eeing my proverbial ranch gate in my rearview mirror, I’m looking for that first cup of morning joe and the table conversations at my local the coffee shop. Most would call me old-school as I find this is my primary arena for communication. Each day the discussion may range from last night’s box scores to health care, some- thing 20 years ago as a young(er) adult was the last thing on my mind to each day’s topsy-turvy farm markets. Being a late comer to cellular phones, texting and shunning social media’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, I must agree with the editor of Farm Journal , Clinton Griffiths’ views. In a recent issue he wrote,“There are so many devices, noises and people pulling for our attention it’s easy to forget to give it. Communication must be intentional. Accidental communication is rarely of any quality.” Communication as per Merriam-Webster ’s definition: a process by which information is exchanged between indi- viduals through systems, signs or behavior. Sharing or trans- ferring information can follow four main categories or styles: verbal, nonverbal, written and visual. Receiving a complimentary issue of Forbes and turning to inside the back cover, I found an article entitled “Thoughts.” It featured an essay,“Talk Less, Hear Moore: September 11, 1995.” Founder of Intel, semi-conductor giant, Gordon Moore, a physicist and billionaire entrepreneur, had a knack for keeping his eyes and ears open.“A lot of people listen with their mouths,” said Andy Grove, CEO of Intel.“Gordon really listens.” Developing a strategy of quietly observing mistakes com- mitted by his former companies, he learned through careful listening: minimize bureaucracy, raise money before you need it and hold regular one-on-one meetings with subordinates in which the direct reports set the agenda.“Such sessions,” he concluded with his trademark succinctness,“are very efficient for transferring information.” As I hunt and peck this article on my laptop featuring an Intel processor like millions of other such devices, it becomes obvious that Moore’s company and he personally are huge financial successes to the point that Moore ranks No. 46 on this year’s Forbes 400, at a personal wealth of $10.3 billion. With an architecture career spanning several decades, my communication has been predominantly visual, revolving around the production of large 24 x 36 inch sheets of precise, By Blaine Davis Contributing Editor hand-drafted building plans. Much like gathering around the table at my local coffee shop, contractors, subcontractors, engi- neers and I gather around these plans one-on-one to facilitate the reality of a new bank, school, hospital or residence. Then, my tools of visual communications weren’t electronic – phones, tablets or laptop computers – but pencils, t-squares and draw- ing boards. Prior to developing these plans, many sessions with my clients involved listening to their needs, desires, dreams and budgets to form a basis for their design. As Alfred Brendel, renowned 20 tt -century Austrian pianist, poet and author is quoted,“The word ‘listen’ contains the same letters as the word ‘silent.’” Thinking of this, possibly the most vital tools are my ears, as first century Greek philosopher, Epictetus said,“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we speak.” Whether be another architectural commission or marketing this year harvest, talk less and hear more applies, just as for Intel’s Gordon Moore. Leaving the coffee shop with all the scores from yesterday’s football games, and discussing and cussing the present state of affairs of Medicare and related health care, my ears turn to my pickup’s radio and the opening commodities market report. Again, listening to the latest doesn’t sit well and my slumping body language exhibited to the driver in the next lane told it all as another form of communication, that of the nonverbal type. Earlier this year, I was fortunate to contract one-third of my family’s corn crop for $4.20 per bushel, well above today’s quotes but far short of what many had said would go to $5. So much for listening to the self-proclaimed experts! This past year, my tenant farmer and I had several conversations in regard to getting back to some wheat production. To counter wheat’s past poor market performance and its increased input costs, we listened to an offer of $1 per bushel premium by a local seed producer. Providing a better cash flow and fitting into our crop-rotation plans, it worked well in 2019. Continu- ing this communication with the seed production company, we are doing the same for the upcoming crop year. Often asked where “Beyond the Ranch Gate” subjects come to me, I indulge myself in much-written communication whether it be magazines, books and even that of electronic blogs, emails and internet. Recently, I perused Kansas Farm “We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we speak.” – Epictetus