Director’s Chair

By Margaret McGovern

 

It’s amazing what you can learn by watching sheep interact in a pasture.  Forget all those Bible stories, nursery rhymes and Far Side strips that portray sheep as lost, mild-mannered flockmates looking for a shepherd to lead them around.  No, sheep aren’t like that at all.  They have their agenda and they know how to pursue what they want.  Even consultants can learn a few things by watching sheep.

 

New Consultant on the Block

If you are going to start out on a new consulting assignment, you might want to think about how best to fit in to your new surroundings.  Maybe the little head-butting tricks that you tried in the last pasture won’t serve you so well this time around.  Maybe there’s a ewe that looks small and unintimidating, and you think you might be able to throw some technical terms at her and bowl her over.  But what you might not realize is that she’s been around a few pastures and she knows how to handle herself.  She might even have a lower center of gravity than you and when she sees your new ideas coming, she’ll just hunker down into position and hold on to her nice grassy spot until all the fuss is over.  You’ll be on the butcher’s block and she’ll still be there, just like she always was.

 

Shear Attraction

Perhaps you’re not on a new assignment, but you just took on more responsibility or the weather warmed up and the shepherd gave you a new ‘do.  All the other sheep still know exactly who you are, but there’s something different about you and they don’t like it.  They will be sure to watch you closely and if the opportunity presents itself, take a little run at you…just in case it might be a good time for them to move up a notch in the hierarchy.  Nothing personal and it will all be over quickly, but you had best be on the lookout when a change in status, or importance, occurs.

 

Rambo

I always thought Beau would be a great name for a ram, so consequently I have an older ram with that moniker.  He is pretty well mannered and appreciates a good scratch on the neck, just like the next guy.  Except that the next guy has horns.  And he’s not necessarily as tolerant as old Beau.  He’s more like Sylvester Stallone in a testosterone flick.  So when you step onto a pasture that’s got a ram or two on it, you may want to enter in an unobtrusive manner rather than throwing your weight around and then having to beat an unexpected and hasty retreat.  And another tip: never turn your back on Rambo.

 

Old Age and Experience will overcome Youth and Skill

Although the lambs are the most fun to watch on a pasture, they are also the ones most likely to get into trouble.  They can maneuver themselves into situations without being able to figure out how to get back out again.  They sometimes throw their weight around with the wrong party, and their moms won’t necessarily be there to defend them.  All in all, it takes a few weeks for them to figure out the routine, the players and the environment before becoming accepted members of the flock. 

 

So, next time you’re wondering why things are not going so well in your client pasture, pay attention to the flock behavior and nobody will be able to pull the wool over your eyes.  Good luck to ewes!

 

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Quarterly

Newsletter

June 2008

 

Volume 10, Issue 1