Lessons from the Crop Farmer
The common story goes build a business and sell it. The common game is to maximize the profits.
I stumbled into a song about a Crop Farmer with a different story playing a different game:
“They came in thinkin top dollar
To that old cotton crop farmer…
You know all the others went and cashed out…
And you can leave town a rich man…”
And he said, “Boys, whatever you’re offerin’, it won’t be enough…”
The Crop Farmer goes on to share his life’s work, memories, & relationships on the farm.
I’m sure the “buyers” were caught off guard if not perplexed by his perspective.
They asked him:
“…Before we go, I gotta know one thing
Between the droughts and the floods through all the years
What in the world got you through?
How the hell’d you get here?”
The Crop Farmer replied and shared again his life’s work, memories, & relationships on the farm.
The Crop Farmer is a steward. The story of a steward is uncommon. The game of a steward is different. A steward is not explicitly optimizing for the finite game: profits. A steward optimizes for the infinite game: trust, wisdom, & relationships.
May we find the same amount of purpose in our daily work as the Crop Farmer does on working his land.
As leaders, we have an opportunity to have a posture of stewardship for the precious lives we get to walk alongside. We have an opportunity to create our life’s work optimizing for the infinite game.
Onward,
Matt