Soap Box

Back in the days of the mega ranches and cattle drives one of the highest compliments you could pay a cowboy was to say, "He rides for the brand."

Meaning that this individual was a company man, devoted to his job and gave his all to see that the cattle were taken care of and willing to face down rustlers, predators or whatever else threatened the herd or the brand (ranch) he worked for. 

It meant he was loyal and could be depended on to turn stampedes, doctor sick cows, stay out in any kind of weather and withstand whatever hardship came his way in the performance of his duties.

I wasn't raised in cattle country but I remember, and have worked with, men with that same work ethic, that same devotion to their job.

Men who would crawl under a truck in the log woods in cold mud to repair whatever breakdown that needed fixing, men who got up at two o�clock in the morning to remove a barn full of flu cured tobacco just to spend the day harvesting the tobacco leaves and filling the barn back up again.

I once saw a man snaking logs out of the woods go back to work minutes after he had been bent over in pain from being kicked in the stomach by a mule.

Back in the seventies when the CDB finished a tour on the west coast, one of our drivers drove from San Francisco to Nashville with only fuel stops just to get a homesick band home for Christmas.

I've seen it with road managers who get out of their bunks in the wee hours of the morning to arrange transportation when a bus breaks down and a road crew that hustles to make up a couple of hours when they're running late so the show can start on time.

I've seen it with our office staff who never turn loose until every number balances, every �T� is crossed, every �I� dotted, every hotel reservation confirmed and every travel arrangement made.

The willingness to be the first one to get there and the last one to leave, the meticulous attention to detail, the ability to make autonomous decisions and act upon them in a timely fashion, to accept responsibility and the capability to act on a situation with authority and competence, the assurance that when a task is given to you it can be considered done, that's what makes a valuable employee.

The prevalent mentality of the last couple of decades seems to have deteriorated to an �I'll do enough to get by but no more� or �Until they pay me more I'll just do as little as I can get by with.�

The fallacy of this attitude is that as long as you do just enough to get by you will stay at the most menial job available and will probably be among the first to go when a round of layoffs come around.

The reason, you're not valuable to your employer, you're just a place keeper, a person easily replaced who brings no unique talent or innovation to the job and you probably spend a lot of your time complaining and sewing discord among other employees about how unfairly you're being treated and how unhappy you are.

If this is you, prepare for a mediocre work life at best, never even being considered for advancement and receiving only whatever automatic raises your job provides.

What it comes down to is, you're just not worth much to any employer, the law of reciprocity catches up with you, you become known as a person who can't be depended on to take the time and effort to do a good job and you probably drift from job to job always experiencing the same thing.

Well folks, take it from somebody who knows, it doesn't have to be that way, if you're willing to develop a new attitude, an extra mile, midnight oil, let me do it, sure I'll stay after hours to get it done, I can accept responsibility, type of attitude.

Saddle up, trot up, cowboy up and ride for the brand.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

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� Charlie Daniels

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