I have seen the inside of many businesses and organizations, and I love to use the analogy that every business is like a family….they all have issues. One of the secrets to running a great company is making the conscious choice to tackle those issues. Other companies will just keep their heads under the covers hoping that whatever it is that’s disrupting will just go away. I am talking about issues with regards to teamwork, communication and motivation.

I’ve had Presidents, CEO’s, and Managers lament to me “I can’t believe this is happening”, or “I have done everything for this employee and still he doesn’t get it”. Unfortunately, just because we want them to “get it”, doesn’t mean they will. Challenges with employees exist in every business. Motivation is a complex thing, as is teamwork and communication.

You just can’t make someone do something, plain and simple. One amazing book that underscores the complexity of human nature is “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. In this book Frankl is stripped of everything and placed in a concentration camp. Here, the Nazis tried to break his spirit, rob him of his desire to live. You would think that would be easy, after all, what did he have to live for? His whole family had been killed, his home gone, and he was robbed of the simple comforts of life. He showed the Nazis, and the world, that when someone has the fortitude to hold onto something, make up their mind to do something, another human being will be hard pressed to interfere. Viktor survived, flourished and founded a very well known type of psychotherapy known as logotherapy.

The power of the human spirit is amazing, and to harness it to accomplish something, to get a job done, can be one of the most rewarding things to an employer. No you can't just tell them to do it. So how do we deal with the age old dilemma of motivating employees to get the job done and reach their potential?

In logging we face all the same challenges with motivation, communication, and teamwork as any business except add the fact that everyone is in separate machines, yelling over loud engines, and working under high stress. We don’t have a spare conference room where we can hold a quick meeting. Our meetings have to happen on the site, in the freezing cold temps with all the pressures of the moment. We are in the business of the urgent. Wood is flowing smoothly, then a hose blows, get everything going again, then the chipper starts choking, quick run and get an alternator, and when the wood is not moving, money starts flowing in the opposite direction. So when you think about finding time to work on motivation, when you need it the most, it’s really not there, no really it’s not. Or is it?

Moving the wood is urgent, but without engaged and motivated employees to move the wood where would we be? Somehow we have to make these things important, we need to peek out from under the covers and face whatever we need to in order to keep our businesses strong. So how do we do it?

One way is to share with others in our industry. I know when we get together we have huge issues to face and work out, but if you have a successful plan that you feel is working with your employees, share it. If you don’t, just start by taking the first step in the direction of giving these issues more attention when you can. Realize that they are a priority, and work at making them so. There are many resources out there. You can start by attending workshops when you have the opportunity, and reading books that will help you focus on how to help your employees reach their maximum potential. There is a great new release that I have just started reading called, 12 The Elements of Great Managing by Rodd Wagner & James K. Harter, PH.D. The book starts by emphasizing the importance of employee engagement, and how a disengaged employee has a substantially higher chance of being involved in an accident on the job. When it comes to our industry, this is something we can’t afford to ignore.

Dale Carnegie Training of Maine holds programs around the state that can help tackle some of the issues we face. Check out what they have to offer at www.maine.dalecarnegie.com , or sign up for their newsletter that offers timely management and employee motivation tips.

Be the type of leader that sees that potential in your employees, talk to them and find out what their dreams are. After spending some time with our crew, I knew immediately that there was someone who wanted more. He is a very loyal employee, and he wants more opportunities to grow. The first step I took to help him to prepare for his future promotion was to have him read How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. As he steps up to the plate, he will need to accomplish things through the people around him. This book, originally published in 1936, still remains on the business bestsellers list, and is the key to successful human relations.

What makes a great business is the fabric that holds it together, and how strong you want to keep that fabric falls into the hands of the leaders in your organization. Some of the threads that hold the fabric together are motivation, communication and teamwork. If we don’t pay attention to strengthening those individual threads, the fabric that holds our businesses together will weaken.

Timber harvesting is a very high stress, dangerous industry and there are times when we feel like we can’t afford the time to focus on these issues, I say we can’t afford not to. I agree, we have plenty of urgent work that we need to get done now, but take the initiative and move your crews towards a more engaging future with your company. Make sure that as a leader in this industry, you don’t keep your head under the covers. Peek out, stare the issues in the face, and work at moving in the right direction. Just that shift in perspective can have great power, and you will see changes in your employees.

Yes, yes, keep it coming!

It’s a little after six in the morning, and in the crisp morning light there is an air of lightheartedness. Cold is here, and “the boys” are ready to move some wood. We have to get the momentum back.

After a short meeting, Tom yells out “On your mark, get set, GO!” Then everyone goes off in different directions taking care of their own responsibilities to get the day rolling.

As the sun rises up over the landing, this is what logging is about. If an artist were to paint a perfect picture to depict a day on the job, this would be it. Wood chips lay like a yellow blanket around the job site, the smell of the pine, the cranes towering against the glow of the early morning sun and the ground just keeps growing harder.

A reader wanted to know why we just can’t harvest the trees in the mud. So things get muddy, what’s the big deal? Well, it’s not just about getting muddy, there is a lot more to it than that. There are economic reasons as well as environmental reasons why loggers hate mud.

The mud creates unneeded wear and tear on the equipment. This can cost thousands of dollars in repairs due to breakdowns that stop the workflow and cut productivity in half.

Landowners need to know that the entire health of their land is being respected and not just the trees. Erosion, the process by which the surface of the earth is worn away, whether natural or man made, can lead to a decrease in soil productivity and possibly pollution.

Think about it, a dead tree blows over on a property and the root system is near a stream. A heavy rain takes all the soil from around the roots and washes it into the stream. Now, imagine that you are a happy go lucky rainbow trout swimming along in the shimmering sunlight. You dart to and fro, chase a water bug, nibble here, nibble there, all is good when all of a sudden there’s a grittiness in your gills, a stinging in your eyes, and stones lodge in your throat. This is pollution to you, and man was not the cause of it, Mother Nature was. After all she’s just doing her job of naturally thinning the trees in the forest. Mother Nature will improve the forest though thinning, she just takes her time and oh by the way, she doesn’t have any connections at the mills like we do. We tell landowners that we can do it much faster, pay attention to the environment and the icing on the cake is additional income.

Aesthetics are very important to us. We want to leave the forest looking better and healthier than we found it. When the ground is soft or muddy, ruts are formed, and should be repaired.

The forest ecosystem is a very complex thing, soil erosion can have an impact when you least expect it. To learn more about soil erosion go to Maine’s Department of Environmental Protection’s Web site Here you can find out about the different types of soil erosion, along with examples of erosion management.

So as you can see, it isn’t just about getting muddy, nor is it just about buying timber, but it’s more about protecting the delicate balance that exists in the woods. Timber is a renewable resource, one that we need to treat with respect. This respect and attention will guarantee the future of the logging industry, as well as the beauty of the forest for generations to come.

Picture this: It’s a really cold old fashioned Maine winter’s evening. You remember, the kind where you can see the smoke rising from your lips. The kind where you used to wear long underwear all day, and a warm fire was a necessity after twelve hours of hard work getting the wood out. This particular winter evening you are taking your sweetheart by the hand and running into the Bangor Auditorium to see such headliners as Aerosmith, Rascal Flatts, The Marshall Tucker Band, ZZ Topp and Neil Young.