‘Mattitude’ presented at dairy conference
A motivational speaker may not seem a typical choice for a speaker at a farm conference, but the Northeast Dairy Management Conference, presented by PRO-DAIRY and the Northeast Dairy Producers Association, welcomed Matt Booth of Mattitude from Dubuque, Iowa, to speak about one’s outlook effecting positive change – and that’s something plenty of farms could use.
“If you want something to be different, you have to change something,” Booth said. “There’s a difference between knowing how and doing it. If you want something to be different you have to get off your butt.”
Although farmers typically have no problem working hard, doing things the same way they’ve always been done, even though it’s not offering positive results, is not going to lead to success.
Booth said attitude matters when considering outcomes and that one’s attitude is influenced by the attitudes of others. He had audience members list the people they spend the most time with and then assign these people a grade based upon how positive their attitudes are. Then they averaged the figures to arrive at an “attitude inventory” revealing how positive they are based upon the influence of others around them.
He encouraged attendees to check their attitude at least as often as they change their motor oil – or as often as they brush their teeth.
“It’s okay to have a crappy day. Just don’t have five years of it,” he said. “‘I’m just a farmer,’ you say. Do you hear a doctor say ‘I’m just a doctor’ or a vet say ‘I’m just a vet’? Or a motivational speaker? Farmers feed the world. Be the best farmer you can.”
He encourages farmers to find a way to farm that’s financially and physically sustainable, such as either expanding to a size that supports a few families or charging upscale prices through specializing.
“Having 100 cows is perfect to work yourself to death,” Booth said. “Be a 5,000-cow farm or milk 20 goats. You have to be Wal-Mart or a little hardware shop that knows everything.”
He said people need to make sincerity part of their endeavor and to demonstrate a positive attitude through smiling.
“By far, the fastest way to get someone to like us is to smile,” Booth said. “It’s understood in any language. It’s universal. It’s basic, inside-the-box thinking. Trust is a big deal. The fastest way to get someone to trust you is to smile. Be trustworthy. Be transparent. Shake their hand and look them in the eye.”
He mentioned the lack of understanding among young people about how to generate interpersonal relationships.
“Eye contact builds trust,” Booth said. “The fastest way to get someone to trust you is to make eye contact.”
Whether addressing farmhands, negotiating contracts or asking for a bank loan, the ability to build a connection of trust is vital for farmers’ success.
Booth said it took him 30 days to build the habit of making eye contact. He looks people in the eye long enough to notice their eye color, along with smiling.
“Those are ‘weapons of mass construction,’” he quipped. “They help people connect.”
He encouraged farmers to check their attitude “so you won’t have to cover your butt. What are you going to do different? You’ve got to make a commitment to change your behavior. If you want something to change for you, get up off your butt and change yourself.”
He grew up on a corn and cattle operation and “was surrounded by a lot of negativity,” he said. “Don’t let one hour ruin your whole day or week.
“You can change only one person’s attitude: yourself. You know how farmers are, mad all the time.”
Whether passive-aggressive or more outspoken, a negative attitude will sour the working environment on the farm. Booth encouraged farmers to frankly say someone’s negative attitude is dragging down the farm.
“We don’t say it because we don’t value attitude, but we should,” Booth said.
