National Hardwood Magazine - May 2023

NHLA: Why Knot...
We tend to offer advice to others,
including employees, even
when it is not wanted. Do you like
unsolicited advice? Me neither,
but we must train employees on
how to be more effective, efficient,
and industrious. So, what
is the best way? I think it’s like guiding a moose hunter.
First, let me say something about hunters. We all know
they think they are the best shooter, have the best gear,
and can hunt better than anyone else, just because they
shot a few deer or something. Most employees are like
that too. The best way to guide an employee, is the
same way to guide a moose hunter. You can tell them
the things to do but, if they don’t care, they will never do
the things you tell them.
When I guide moose hunters, I always start by telling
them why I am there. Seriously, I tell them this is
my family business and I love to get away and have a
chance to relax. I tell them about my family and my job
at NHLA and how important it is for me to leave them to
be a guide. This is true for sawmills and moose hunters;
you must tell them what your business means to you and
what you are sacrificing to build your business and why
they should care. By doing this, you will help them buy
in and establish credibility with them.
I then try to relate with them and build on common
ground. I ask them if they have hunted moose before or
other big game. We share stories and relate to each other’s
experiences. Here I do a lot of listening. You would
be wise to do the same for your staff. Ask them about
themselves and their experiences in their life. Don’t put
down any of their experience’s no matter how crazy they
are, just nod and ask them follow up questions about
how it made them feel or where they went from there.
As I start to share moose hunting advice and explaining
how it is different than other types of hunting, I share
with them the experiences I have had with other hunters
BE AN EXAMPLE
over the years. So and so did
this, what’s his name did that,
and it was crazy, or it was great.
Experiences teach the hunter my
preferred way of hunting without
being bossy. You have had plenty
of good and bad experiences
with employees, tell them those experiences and laugh
about it. And I always say, you can do what you want, it
is your hunt, but my job is to give you the best possible
chance of seeing a moose each time we go out. Your job
is to help employees succeed by giving them the tools
to do so but they must make their own decisions when
grading or milling or selling Hardwood lumber.
Most often I tell them about times when a hunter was
not prepared. So, they need to be prepared for anything.
They need to look around and become familiar with their
surroundings. I warn them they have 8 seconds to shoot
when I call a bull in hot, just like riding a bull at the rodeo.
They can relate to that. They get the general idea; nothing
goes as planned for a bull rider.
When you teach employees, you need to share experiences,
good and bad, again and again and again. Your
experiences, your boss’s, your father’s, your past employee’s.
It does not matter whose, it only matters what
principle, habit, or behavior, you are teaching with the
story.
After all that, I tell them how nothing ever goes as
planned when hunting, the moose is smart and never
does what you think it will, so you must adapt. I then take
them to a lake shore and show them how to call moose.
It is an extended “EER—UGH—bellowed into a Birch
bark bullhorn.” Calling a moose to come to you on a lake
shore or in a meadow is the most effective way to hunt,
seeking a moose by walking in the forest is hard, there
are too many trees blocking your view and walking is too
noisy. Finally, when a moose comes, I am prepared to
back them up if they hit the moose.
Please turn to page 83
BY DALLIN BROOKS,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
NATIONAL HARDWOOD LUMBER ASSOCIATION,
MEMPHIS, TN
901-377-1082
WWW.NHLA.COM
22 MAY 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE www.RealAmericanHardwood.org