I have shared in prior posts the background of why my blog is Farmer to Pharmacy. I grew up in a small town and when I was younger my grandfather owned a farm. I have so many good memories surrounding that farm, but one particular memory stands out.

My grandfather was a busy man, he loved to work and he loved to serve others which led to him always doing something for someone. Also, when I was young he had a white box truck with only one seat which was always a harrowing experience as a passenger because you either stood on the passenger side or sat on a milk case sliding around the truck with every turn or acceleration. After he closed down the family dairy he went to work at a local dairy but continued to run and manage the family farm. Every Saturday morning he would deliver eggs to homes and local businesses. As a youngster, I always was torn because if I delivered eggs with my grandfather I would miss Saturday morning cartoons which growing up was always a highlight of the week! On the other hand, I loved spending time with my grandfather whom I admired so much and even to this day I try to live and demonstrate his life principles grounded in his favorite bible verse Galatians 5:22-26. Reflecting back, I would say that I chose delivering eggs about 50% of the time.

It was always hard work, getting up early, loading the truck and delivering to each location. It was hard but I really enjoyed it because I not only got to spend time with my grandfather, I also got to meet so many people from the community and small business owners. We never just delivered eggs and go on our way, there was always time spent to share a quick story about our families, local happenings and in some cases exchanging a couple pieces of “penny candy” as payment for our services. We would generally end the day around lunch time, long after cartoons were over, but just in time for my grandmother to have lunch ready and waiting. In looking back, those are the memories that that stand out for me, spending valuable time with people around me, not Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker or Mighty Mouse.

Leadership Takeaways:

1. Work for a leader that inspires you, challenges you and aligns to your guiding principles. In the same regard, be that leader as well. I loved spending time with my grandfather even though the work was hard.
2. If you love what you do and and what you do has a purpose, its not truly work. As a leader you have to create that environment through example and aligning to a purpose. I don’t regret missing one Saturday of cartoons, but I do regret not spending every Saturday working alongside my grandfather.
3. In any business people still buy from people, the way you interact and engage with customers drives long term success or failure. Many of the customers on my grandfathers route were long time customers of his dairy farm, when he closed the dairy they remained relentlessly loyal to him regardless of what he was selling or delivering.