So there I was, sitting at a table suspended 100 feet in the air over Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, with several dairy producers and industry representatives having dinner. We had just completed three days of management training at PDP’s Managers Academy. As we took a mental break, we enjoyed the company of those who we had met just 60 hours before.
As a repeat Managers Academy participant, I knew the week would test the limits of my comfort zone. Those coming for the first time were also experiencing something new and different. Some of it was by design, other parts by happenstance.
We first came together on Tuesday morning, finding our name cards placed at assigned tables. We began to interact with people we had never met before. The speaker challenged us to work together to solve a case study and people began to open up about their own stories and experiences. More conversations were had at lunch and dinner.
The next day, we ventured out across the island to learn from other businesses. As we walked a coffee plantation, vegetable and tobacco farm, and rum distillery, the group continued to interact with each other, asking questions and finding common ground.
By Thursday, we were back to the training room. This time we could find our own seats, yet many found new tables and people to interact with. The group was large, yet small enough to get to know almost everyone in this limited time.
As with most conferences, the training provided helps us learn, stretches our thinking and sparks ideas. Yet, just as valuable are the real-life examples we heard from other attendees to help us know we are not alone in this great industry.
Just a week earlier, I was also at Dairy Strong in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where Brett Sciotto, the opening keynote speaker, discussed some of the global and domestic challenges faced by American agriculture and said, “It will be coming together that will ultimately be our strength.”
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of traveling to Arizona, New Mexico, Sacramento, San Diego, Orlando – twice, Savannah and now Puerto Rico for Managers Academy. I’ve been to an alligator farm, rode roller coasters at Disney World, discovered how heat exchangers are as important to SeaWorld’s dolphins as they are to chilling milk, learned peacocks are a gift of prosperity and toured one of America’s largest shipping ports, all alongside dairy producers and other members of our industry.
So when the opportunity presented itself to have dinner while hanging 100 feet in the air, I’ll admit I almost backed out from my fear of heights. Yet I went, had a great time and know this will be one of those moments I’ll always remember on how people in this industry can come together.
What will you do to get to know your peers in this industry? Personally, I’d encourage you to join me at a future Managers Academy (watch for more details in the fall). And there are plenty of other great events in store around the country from the High Plains Dairy Conference in Texas to PDP’s Business Conference in Wisconsin to the Central Plains Dairy Expo in South Dakota, etc. Now is the perfect time to come together in this industry, try something new and reach for new heights.
