How will You Steward Your Seeds?

One of my fondest memories, as a growing boy, was investing time, on my grandparents’ land, plowing fields. When I say “fondest”, I don’t necessarily mean, at the time, it was one of my favorite things to do, but looking back on it, I can see how the endless process, each year, built in me a character quality that can be used in my career, today.

There would usually be two of us working, one using a chisel plow, while the other followed with a tandem disk. Around and round we would go, throughout the day, the chisel plow breaking up the soil, while the disk would finely till the soil in preparation for the grain to be sewn. As I relive those days, the smell of the sweat from physical labor is always mixed with the beautiful view of the valley, we plowed, surrounded by wooded areas and rocky cliffs.

My grandfather knew this technique like the back of his hand, and would never let us skip a step, as his method was tried and true. Preparing the fields was crucial to yielding a crop.

See, our careers are very similar to my grandfather’s field.

We each have been given an allotment of seeds, each year. There is only so much of our time and our energy to be utilized. How well are you stewarding your seeds?

When I was recently named the coveted Producer of the Year Award, within our company, I was given the opportunity to share about my success. Humbled, I doubted I had anything of value to offer such seasoned professionals, whom I work alongside. Instead of theories and equations they more than likely knew better than I, I decided to head straight to my grandparent’s fields.

I set the stage for what has become a precious memory of my childhood. As I described the valley, hills, woods, the sweat and the blisters, I placed a small package of seeds in front of each person. I spoke how each of us has been given one package of seeds, this year. It is their choice as to how they will handle the seeds. Would they scatter the seeds in the woods, where they would never receive sun light, thus, never mature? Would they plant them on the rocky soil and allow them to be scorched by the sun, due to having shallow roots? Or would they choose the harder, but more beneficial road of working, laboring and carefully preparing the soil, creating a safe and healthy place for those seeds to grow?

We each have been given this decision.

C Suite Executives, how will you sew into your Managers? Managers, how will you sew into your team? Sales People, how will you sew into your clients. And, on a more personal level, husbands, how will you sew into your wife and kids?

I believe firmly that if we do our part in the preparation of the field, becoming great stewards of the seeds we are allotted, the harvest will come.