Better Pork - December 2006

Second Look

Simple truths that can change the way you work

A long-time observer of the pork industry sets out some useful axioms gathered by listening to people who know what that they are doing

by RICHARD SMELSKI

We all know people who are really quiet, but when they say something you want to be listening. They often conclude with only a few words that seem to sum everything up.     Over the years, I have been noting down these profound statements or axioms. For many people, they are almost a way of life -- simple words but ones that can change how we do things. Let me share some of the axioms that I have gathered over 35 years in the pig industry, with the caveat that they are interpreted through “the eye of the beholder.”

1. Doing things right or doing the right thing.
2. And what's the task at hand?
3. Average cost of production is average market price.
4. Twenty percent of the people own 80 per cent of the wealth. The same Pareto Principle applies to time, volunteers and many things we do.
5. Just the facts ma'am, just the facts.
6. As compared to what?
7. If you don't like what you are doing, do something else.
8. If you don't have a competitive advantage, don't compete.
9. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
10. A job well-started is half-finished.
11. The devil is in the details.
12. Dwell on the solution, not the problem.
13. Profit is the result of the services you provide.
14. If it ain't broke, break it and fix it better.
15. There’s no such thing as “no time” -- only priorities.
16. Many a hands make light work
17. If you think you can do it alone, you are a fool.
18. This, too, shall pass.
19. Vacation is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
20. I'll do anything for my country, but don't wake me before 9 a.m.
21. Every time you point a finger, four fingers point back.
22. It's not what you think you are that holds you back, it's what you think you are not.
23. The wise adjust.
24. You need to put wood into the stove before you can get heat.
25. If it's to be, it's up to me.
26. Lead, follow or get out of the way.

Sir Winston Churchill was a very long-winded articulate orator, yet his most profound speech was given in Harrow, 1941, and consisted of 45 words (“Never, never, never, never give in except…..”).
The same is true of these axioms. We can make many business plans, and worry, but some of these simple axioms sum up the things we often take a lot of time over. And the sun will come up tomorrow! BP

Richard Smelski is general manager of Ontario Swine Improvement Inc. and a former Ontario government swine specialist.