Many moons ago my brother, Dr. Brannon (he is not the kind of doctor who can do anybody any good — he has an Ag. PhD) was asked to judge sheep at a county fair in central Kentucky. Being the youngest professor at the time, he was on the bottom of the totem pole and drew the assignment when the originally appointed faculty professor, proficient in sheep, could not attend.
Doc Brannon knew cattle; he knew nothing about judging sheep. So, under duress, he went to the ag library and checked out a book on sheep and headed out to rural sheep country. Driving down the road, he struggled to get a glimpse of the pictures and captions on what would qualify one of the wooly critters to be a champion while not ending up in a wreck.
Upon arrival he was escorted to the rows of pens full of 4-legged cuties that were all baaaahing their hearts out. They all looked alike. He went from sheep to sheep, feeling each like the book he scanned showed to do, not having a clue of what he was feeling for. Then the thought hit him; he would just judge them like cattle! He could JUDGE cattle man.
After his placings were announced, he stood toward the exit and waited while the bib-overall clad grandparents put the thumbs in the galluses, spit tobacco juice and looked at one another. Finally, one parent stated "Well, I heard those university fellers were looking for a different type of sheep nowadays." Doc made a quick exit.
Now what can one glean from this encounter of a person with a degree, being put over seasoned professionals, and passing judgement on the product of their toils. I bet you could 'comment' below. I have a few examples, but I have turned over a new 'be nice' leaf from the Bully pulpit. I do know that some of our people have been through schools of how to do this or that, and although we learned more ways and means in excess of what the cost was, still found instances of things that were wrong, at least for us.
Discernment of a real expert usually boils down to the asking of relevant questions, and being able to say I don't know but I will find out — and does. Those with all the answers only from a book usually don't hang around long.
My brother never went back to judge sheep. Thank goodness we have a lot more good judges in the farm equipment business than we do in politics. Til next time, judge them sheep good boys.
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Told from the perspective of an in-the-trenches owner/operator — Tim Brannon of B&G Equipment, Paris, Tenn. — Equipment Dealer Tips, Tales & Takeaways shares knowledge, experiences and tips/lessons with fellow rural equipment dealerships throughout North America. Covering all aspects required of an equipment dealership general manager, Brannon will inform, entertain and provide a teachable moment for current — and future — leaders within equipment dealerships. |
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