"Put one foot in front of the other" ....

 

The last few months, and more specifically the last six week since Christmas week of 2022 have been some of the most challenging of my career.  Late in the summer of 2022 I took on an expanded responsibility at the company, moving into the role of President and C.O.O. in September.  At the same time business challenges, combined with inflationary headwinds and other industry wide dynamics made the operating pressures very present.  What made the past few weeks exceptionally challenging was the un-forecasted "bomb-cyclone" that brought almost a years worth of rain to our growing regions in just four weeks.  The rains started just after Christmas and didn't really stop til early last week.  I always knew that farming is hard ( now who said "Farming is easy??") and that lesson was driven home with distinction in January.  We harvest more than two million pounds of carrots EVERY DAY, and that dynamic was deeply challenged by the recent rain event.

I share these "woes" as just one of many California ag companies ( and ag employees) who have had a rough ride and are now quite literally digging our way out of the rainy mess.  Its been a tough run and I am  so proud of our team battling the elements to do what they could to plant and harvest our carrots between storms, flooded fields and roads, and cold and wet weather that just didn't stop!  Its been tough, but the team I have a pleasure to work with, shoulder to shoulder, is an inspiring crew that cares about the land, our carrots and our customers regardless of weather forecast.  Its a team of "doers"that inspire me every day and are huge energy driver for me every day. As you can see from the picture to the right, the recently harvested carrots look great, and we are getting back in the fields and the harvest conditions are improving every day!

I don't usually quote song lyrics in my essays, and have never before quoted lyrics from a old Christmas TV special ( "Santa Claus is Coming to Town",) but this jingle and these words kept going through my mind as we faced challenge after challenge these past few weeks:

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking out the door

You never will get where you’re going

If you never get up on your feet

Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing

A fast walking man is hard to beat

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If you want to change your direction

If your time of life is at hand

Well don’t be the rule be the exception

A good way to start is to stand

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor

Put one foot in front of the other

And soon you’ll be walking out the door

If I want to change the reflection

I see in the mirror each morn

You mean that it's just my election

To vote for a chance to be reborn

I know this song comes from a quirky holiday show released in 1970, but the actual words hit home.  I share all of this as a way to suggest that we all are facing challenges in our work and in our communities every day.  While they may not be "bomb-cyclone" driven, or caused by some sort of "atmospheric river," they are real and can feel overwhelming.   These issues and challenges in our lives call on us to respond and take action and as the song suggests, "a good way to start is to stand"!  Hang in there and remember...." you will never get where you are going if you never get on your feet."

A season of hope, peace, love and renewal…

  

 

A quick message this Christmas morning from West Newbury Vermont.  The picture above is from a chilly dawn this morning at sunrise, looking across the “Upper Connecticut river valley looking into the White mountains in New Hampshire.  This beautiful village has meant a lot to Jennie and her family for decades, and I have had the chance to get to know it since I was welcomed into this family almost 40 years ago.  Last night, at the village church (built in 1832, pictured below) we attended a wonderful and moving Christmas Eve service where Jen’s father lead the music and her sisters and nieces sang as part of the service. 

 

 

 It was a lovely, poignant, and moving night and the pastor shared a homily that really touched my heart.  He reminded all of us that Christmas isn’t a single day, but actually a season of twelve days (remember the “partridge in a pear tree??”) where we get the chance to slow down and reflect that this season, regardless of your specific religious beliefs or traditions, is a time for hope, peace love and renewal for all.  A time for all of us to realize how fragile life truly is, and how the world, our communities, our families and ourselves all need more love, peace and hope in our lives and especially in these challenging times…. we have the chance to use this “season” to find that path for “renewal” in our relationships broadly, and as I often quote from Dr. martin Luther King Jr.,

 

I refuse to accept the idea that the isness of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the oughtness that forever confronts him.

 

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, filled with the "oughtness" that lies in front of all of us, and a season filled with hope, peace, love and renewal!

Pants for Christmas

 

As many of you readers know, or can certainly pickup from my essays over the past 12+ years, I am extremely proud (and very fond) of our company… Bolthouse Farms.  I will save the professional reflections and appreciations for another essay but suffice it to say that I continually find my time at Bolthouse Farms challenging and inspiring.  The company is based in Bakersfield California, a tough/gritty city in southern end of the San Joaquin valley.  The local industrial base is centered on Agriculture and Oil and the community is relatively poor and faces many challenges.

 

One tradition at the company that I am so proud of is our annual “adopt a family” program during the holidays.  It’s a time where we “adopt” a number of very needy families (this year 40) and we buy the entire “Christmas wish list” for the family.  We don’t just collect money for a financial donation, we actually buy, wrap and deliver the gifts to the families right before the holiday… this year I went to Walmart to buy a bike for a little 10-year-old!  Different departments take a specific family and their “wish list, and as a group pull it all together… it’s pretty incredible.

 

A week or so ago we realized we had one family “left over” that hadn’t been assigned to a specific department/team so Cathy dove in (of course, she always rocks!) and pulled the list for the last family.  It was a family that included a few kids and there was a solid list of toys and goodies for the young ones but the “wish list” for the parents was very slim, and specifically the “Christmas wish list” for mom was a pair of pants… nothing fancy, nothing flashy…. Just a single pair of pants.

 

The ”wish” of  “pants for Christmas” for the mom floored me and ultimately inspired this essay.  When was the last time any of us asked for a pair of pants ( or socks, or an “undershirt”, or a belt….) on a Christmas list??? It made me think about this family…and their needs (and wishes) this holiday and boy did it slow me down.  Forget about the business challenges at work (and we have a few, ha!!) …forget about the challenges of travelling during the holidays…forget about the ”Christmas lists” for families and friends ( none that include a pair of pants)… think about this family on the SE side of Bakersfield and their needs and challenges this year!  Perspective and appreciation often come from unseen corners, at unexpected moments, and this year the “adopt a family” program really stopped me in my tracks!

 

So many families across the world, and in our communities and neighborhoods close to home, are facing challenges this holiday.  We often are too occupied with our “busy lives” to see this reality but it’s there… and its everywhere! I hope this essay will “nudge” a few of you readers to take a moment over the next few weeks and find a way to “share” a little of what you have with those in need; maybe collecting canned goods for a local foodbank, donating to UNICEF or another organization committed to supporting children and families in crisis around the world, or finding your own “adopt a family” program in your hometown…. I hope you all can find a path to give back to others just a little bit more than usual this year.

 

As for “our adopted family,” all the gifts have arrived, (including the pants!) and are wrapped and ready to go to them next week.  The picture below is of a few of our “Santa’s helpers” and one of our trucks filled with all the gifts for all the families ready to be delivered….its incredible!!

 

I am hopeful that these presents can bring some smiles on Christmas morning for all the 40 families in Bakersfield, and maybe your generosity over the next few weeks can bring smiles to many more!

Merry Christmas!

 

Humble and very thankful

 

 

Early on a chilly morning, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, I sit in our side room and am consumed by these two ideas/feelings/priorities….. being deeply humble and thankful as I start this essay.  This little room was an old “side porch” that we enclosed years ago and I have found it one of my favorite spots in this wonderful old house…. a house that turns 100 in 2023!  This cold morning, I can see the first rays of dawn lighting the tops of the old oak trees at the back of our yard… starting out as rays of piercing red, then mellowing into the soft yellows of a broader sunrise…. so beautiful.

Amid this beautiful dawn, I am struck by a deep sense of gratitude for my life, my marriage, my children, my broader family, my work, and the team of folks I get to work with every day.  I have written it many times… “life is fragile” and I feel the truth of those words again today.  We act sometimes like we are made of steel and will live forever, and we all know the folly of those thoughts.  In truth, we are made of flowers and stardust, (not titanium!!) and live a life shorter than we would hope… and have a wonderful set of chances and choices to live that life now, have an impact now, and work shoulder to shoulder with other like-minded folk trying to make tomorrow just a little better than yesterday!

 

Earlier this week, I lead a “Zoom Call” for our Leadership Team at Bolthouse Farms, a group of 50-60 key leaders from across the company and across the country.  We were reviewing our Q1 results ( not pretty!) and reinforcing the key priorities for fiscal Q2 ( the N/D/J wild ride.) As I was reviewing the numbers and reinforcing the key priorities I scanned the “zoom screen” ( which went into 3 screens) and was struck and impressed by the talented leaders that were side by side in the “zoom squares.”  There was Phil and David…. Sam and Manny…. Todd and Mary…. Lott and Amy… Donny and Mike…. Gio and Adam…. (and the list goes on and on) …all “shoulder to shoulder” on my screen focused on finding ways to make this crazy business we call Bolthouse Farms a bit better tomorrow than yesterday, better in December than October, better in  Q2 than Q1.  It literally brought a tear to my eye seeing these bright talented leaders “in it together” and I was deeply humbled and thankful that I had the chance to lead THIS team of tremendous leaders, at THIS time in our company's history, to work on OUR challenges/opportunities TOGETHER… tears of appreciation and humility.

 

As you turn your thoughts toward your families and friends and the upcoming thanksgiving holiday, find your own moment of “appreciation and humility.”  Regardless of the challenges facing our world, our county, our companies, and our families, we are literally lucky every day to have the chance to make it all a little bit better tomorrow…. and Thanksgiving is a good time to work on reminding ourselves of that deep truth.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

Sir are you Ok??? … Indeed, I am!

 

 

Well it has been a crazy few weeks, in candor a crazy few months!  After returning from an outstanding family vacation in mid-August, all hell seemed to breakout on the work front.  Business conditions have been very challenging, we have gone through a significant senior management change, and just last week took an action to reduce heads and expenses at the company in order to manage costs in the light of inflationary/recessionary headwinds.  While these challenges also face many organizations across industries, we are certainly feeling the challenges/pressures very directly and very personally as we head into Q4 of 2022.  It is this context that set the stage for a complex and challenging few days last week.

 

While all these business dynamics have been going on, a very dear friend of mine lost his brother to cancer.  The brother’s cancer hit hard, and the “battle” didn’t last very long, and at a very young age he passed away just a few weeks ago.  Knowing the family for over 30 years, I attended the memorial service last week wanting to show support for my friend and to honor his recently passed brother.  The service was filled with powerful and emotional tributes from family & friends and was accompanied by an incredible singer and guitarist.  The closing “song” was a rendition of Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” (a song that was also played at my sister-in-law’s funeral back in 1999) that was beyond poignant…. I found myself deeply moved as I sat in the last row quietly weeping.  The service ended, I paid my respects to the family, and headed back into the work challenges of the day…. Probably not the best of ideas.

 

The business issues were active and swirling and I spent the rest of the next few days on calls regarding costs, revenue trends, farming challenges, customer issues…. you know the normal swirl… and I found myself completely worn out as I headed to fly back to Atlanta late last week.  Now the logistics of commuting back and forth from Atlanta to Bakersfield California is never simple, but the “return trip home” always starts with a very early flight out of the little airport in Bakersfield in order to connect to a flight back to Atlanta later that same day… these days start early with a 4:45am alarm in order to make the 6:15 am flight to Phoenix.

 

It was on this plane that I had the moment of interaction that I captured in the title of this essay.  It was early, and the flight attendant asked if I needed anything to drink.  I must have mumbled a somewhat incoherent response, and he said, “sir, can I get you anything…. sir are you ok??”  Somehow that second question… “Sir, are you ok?” triggered me out of my haze and I clearly responded… “Indeed, I am!”  as I paused with my response in the air it became clear that I was not only “Ok,” I was way beyond that adjective!!  I am incredibly lucky to have the life I have!  A great marriage to sweet Jennie, two wonderful kids in Bryson & Marie, so many dear and close friends many that I have known for decades....a chance to work in a wonderful company in a great role with a great team… working with a group of senior leaders who are talented and deeply committed to the business across so many levels…. No I am not JUST “Ok”,... I am doing very well and am VERY lucky to have the challenges that at times seem so omnipresent and overwhelming.

 

Maybe it was the combination of not enough sleep, (and maybe not enough coffee!!), and the powerful memorial service but that one simple question (“Sir, are you ok?”) stirred me out of my haze and helped me get a moment of perspective.  I hope that you have a chance to slow yourself down, and maybe ask yourself if you are “doing ok??"  We all need to shake off the blinders of the moment to remind ourselves that life is fragile and short, and that those who have passed before us are great reminders for all of us to try to enjoy the challenges that we face today, we will miss them when we are gone.

Empathy, not presumption, is key for leaders!

 

 

This is a quick essay from a leadership moment I had this week.  Leading in the context of the past few years has been challenging for me personally and for leaders across industries and organization size.  The dynamics of Covid with a large employee base (for us the majority of our organization works in the plant or on the farms every day), combined with massive supply chain disruptions, and wild inflation swings have created the most significant leadership challenge of my 35+ year career.  In this context, we have had numerous young leaders “step up” into big roles, with expanded responsibilities, to face the challenges across various departments.  It’s in this context that an exchange from earlier this week prompted this essay.

 

In a discussion with another senior member of our team, we were discussing the situation of a young exec who had stepped up into a larger role over the past few months.  My senior team partner expressed their worry about the young exec, concerned that they might have too much on their plate, and suggested that maybe we should “move something” to another young leader to help “balance the load.”  I listened and understood where they were coming from but suggested tht instead of just “moving some responsibilities to help out,” I thought we should have someone check in with them to see how they were doing…. Simply put, let’s ask before acting!

 

That suggestion turned out to be a good move because when the young exec was asked “how they were holding up with the new responsibilities?” they responded that they were energized by the new departments and all the new things to learn, and while they were working a ton, they knew they would get it “dialed in” soon and didn’t want to change a thing.   A well-meaning senior leader almost “trampled” the energy and performance of a growing your exec just because they “presumed” a bit too much about the situation without asking a singe question.

 

Its important to remember that this is tight balancing act and for leaders, especially in challenging moments, its critical to have an “empathetic” eye/ear directed towards the organization.

 

Empathy:  noun

1. the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

 

This need to be tuned into the company and the team is hard and often is a shifting landscape, so leaders actually have to work hard to their “empathy” radar up and working at all times.  The key in my mind is to not let that empathetic “radar” so too far without actually asking much needed questions.

 

 

Presumption:  noun

1.  

an idea that is taken to be true, and often used as the basis for other ideas, although it is not known for certain.

 

 

Take a moment as leaders to reflect on this “balancing act” yourselves.  My encouragement is to keep you attention tuned into your organizations, but don’t let it go too far based soley on “your opinions!”  Ask some key questions through your process, and I am sure you will keep “presumption” out of your leadership toolbox.

 

 

 

Eyes Forward!

 

The past few weeks have been filled with challenges and setbacks from multiple angles.  Tough business issues, combined with senior executive changes and frustrated equity partners have led to a few weeks of mounting stress.  In the midst of that “whirlwind,” once again I received some heartfelt and “on-point” advice from my long-term business partner and good friend Cathy…advice that I think is applicable to so many of us in these broadly challenging days.

 

The setting was an early morning drive (and I mean VERY early) from Los Angeles to Bakersfield two weeks ago.  The stress of the mounting situation was digging into my sleep so on that morning, I was awake well before 4am and on the road before 4:30.  Heading north on the 405, I called to check-in with Cathy and shared the dynamics of everything that was going on… a helpful and sympathetic “ear” in a very tough moment.  After listening to my venting, she said “Bill, I have some advice for you today” … and boy was I listening… I needed something!  “She said, “remember as you head to Bakersfield today… Eyes Forward.!”  Those two words, “Eyes Forward,” were helpful that day and have stayed with me over the past few weeks.

 

While Cathy’s advice on that Thursday morning was applicable to the challenge of driving over the Grapevine on the 405, she was really talking about working to have a clear headset and focus on the challenges ahead, not being distracted by the distractions around us… nor the missteps of the past.  More that 10 years ago I posted an essay titled “over the hood-over the horizon” (you can find it at: https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2012/04/over-hood-over-horizon.html ) that touches on this idea of how to successfully navigate a challenging “road” in business or in life.  Cathy’s advice is a very good compliment to that idea, and in some way, they really make very good sense together.

 

As I reflect on this essay, I am pretty consumed by the challenges of the moment, both in my business life and across the world.  The past few years of living in a Covid plagued world, with accelerating political divisiveness, global military crises, escalating climate change issues, ( and I could go on…) have seemed daunting to the point of overwhelming.  The issues and challenges seem so omnipresent that charting a path forward appears out of reach.  It’s in this context that Cathy’s advice rings true… “Eyes Forward!”  If we take a moment, we need to remember that there have been daunting challenges across the centuries…  dramatic issues of plague, war, starvation, cultural crises, etc.  That historic perspective is not meant to be depressing and fatalistic.  It is intended to remind all of us that living and leading in the context of massive challenges is nothing new.  In those historic moments, just like today, Cathy’s advice is helpful and needed!

 

As you the reader take on the challenges in your world, whatever they are and from whatever direction they emanate, keep your focus on the road ahead and remember… “Eyes Forward.”  Companies, countries, and organizations of any size need leaders that help make sense of the chaos of challenges that face us and help chart a course FORWARD working to make the path of tomorrows a bit better and more productive than the days that are past.  I have often said that we have an infinite inability to affect yesterday, and an infinite ability to affect tomorrow ... and all the tomorrows in our future. 

Eyes Forward!!