Surveys of ranch employees indicate many forgo higher-paying jobs to pursue the culture and lifestyle that comes with ranching. Sure, wages and benefits are important, but ranch employees are motivated by means other than financial compensation.

"Pa-pa-pa avocado. See, Mom, it starts with P, not with A," says the very sure-of-himself 4-year-old Ethan. "No, bud. Ah-ah-ah avocado. It starts with A," I say, trying to be as reasonable as possible. He insists, "No, my teacher says it starts with a P." He then folds his arms and glares at me.

People seem to be most open to new ideas, alternate strategies and other changes to our normal approaches during the first few weeks of the year.

I am a sports fan. We have season tickets to three University of Minnesota sports (oops, not this year). In addition to enjoying the games, I have the occupational hazard of studying how the coaches are leading the teams.