Articles

Life Lessons from the County Fair

Jana M. Kemp

The University of Idaho is a Land Grant University which means that part of its founding mission is to share knowledge and technology with citizens of the state through the Cooperative Extension Service and its programs. In the midst of county fair season, today’s column is about the discovery and rediscovery of lessons learned by youth participating in 4-H and adults judging projects at county fairs.

The 4-H pledge is a powerful place to start. “I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and by health to better living, for my home, my club, my community, my country, and my world.” Imagine the power of living this pledge on a daily basis. Managers and employees alike would make better decisions that better serve the highest good of all people, activities, and entities affected by each decision.

Club meetings, club projects and showing projects at the county fair also offer lessons for the workplace. For instance, participation in club meetings allows a 4-H’er to prepare a project for the fair. The same is true in our workplace. Participation is required for team projects and work assignments to get done.

Community service project participation is expected of 4-H’ers to show how the member has served the community. Volunteerism and corporate citizenship are examples of corporate community service.

Demonstrations to share knowledge and teach skills are also encouraged. How many times a week do you demonstrate a new skill or process? And how often do you decide “I could do it faster, so I’ll just do it” and end up not teaching anyone else in the company the skill?

While judging at the fair this year, I had the opportunity to work with five young ladies and their 16 projects. The life lessons I was reminded of include: goal setting, record keeping, money management, demonstrating progress and learning new things, and being on time with project submissions for the fair. Do these five lessons sound familiar to your workday, personal, and life goals?

Setting goals, keeping records, public speaking, and being on time are skills that I learned during my 10 years in 4-H. What lessons can you rediscover by thinking about your school, 4-H, FFA or FHA involvement?

Interestingly, the Head, Heart, Hands part of the 4-H pledge is used as a model in a new business book by Ph.D’s Elizabeth Gibson and Andy Billings: “Big Change at Best Buy.” The book tells the story of hyper-growth and how to sustain both excellence and the business during periods of hyper-growth.

ACTION ITEMS: Ask what your team members have pledged their head, heart, hands, and health to. Then, build an action plan that ties team member pledges and passions to the building of your business or organization. Commit your head to reading a new business book this month.
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Reprint Permission: The author is willing to grant reprint permissions. Please contact Jana Kemp: jana@janakemp.com or call 208-367-1701.