National Hardwood Magazine - May 2023

wood Flooring since he started there nine years ago. He
has been in the forest products industry for 20 years,
starting at Ashley Furniture buying wood products.
Polk attended South Pontotoc High School in Pontotoc,
MS. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business
administration at the University of Mississippi in Oxford,
MS.
He enjoys traveling, hunting and fishing. He has been
married to Shannon for 27 years. The couple has one
daughter, Leanna, who is currently serving in the U.S.
Air Force.
For more information call 205-779-7045, email tim
polk@buchananhardwoods.com, or visit
www.buchananhardwoods.com. n
NHLA: WHY KNOT... Continued from page 22
The same holds true for employees. After sharing
with them experiences and expectations you need to get
them started or give them new responsibilities. When
things don’t go as planned, and they won’t, they need
to know who to call and know that you will back them up
on good decisions. When employees solve a problem
on their own, even if it wasn’t what you would do, you
support what they did and tell them what they could do
better next time.
Unlike a mountain or a mostly barren wilderness where
you spot and stalk, in a forest you sit and wait. I am sure
many of you have done that in deer stands. While you
wait, you think. This is what I do when moose hunting
and its prime time to talk to myself and God. You don’t
always have to be chasing after things, you can be calm
and sit and ponder on things, look around and enjoy
where you are. Your employees need some time to do
that too. If they think about what they do and they buy in
to what you are doing, they can help you solve problems
you didn’t even know you had.
A hunter who has been hunting a few days and hasn’t
seen a moose quickly becomes discouraged. They
start to complain. Don’t complain with them, compliment
something else instead. A depressed hunter is often
an unprepared hunter. The same is true for employees.
Keep asking questions and let them talk it out, you
will find they know more than you thought and are still
hopeful things will get better. I have the moose stories
to prove it.
The only way to get better is to be prepared and change
with the situation. Asking questions is more helpful for
getting people to realize that they need to change then
telling someone that they need to change. Don’t just tell
people what to do but guide people to do it by sharing
experiences and asking questions.
Why knot be an example to your employees. n
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sales@devereauxsawmill.com
989-593-2552
devereauxsawmill.com
MAY 2023 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 83