As you grow into your new Rhino body you will start to notice how the cows really stand out!  Cows who are coworkers or employees have the potential to make a Rhino's life miserable.  They show up late, complain most of the day and worst of all…put the least amount of effort in their job as possible! This means the Rhino needs to accomplish more, pick up the slack and work hard to stay positive in a negative environment.  The Rhino goes the extra mile, arrives early or stays late and most importantly embraces their job with a positive attitude.

Two recent events in my life reminded me how Cows can negatively impact your life or ruin a company:

This weekend was the West Chester 4 miler, a great run with over 700 runners. After the race I was talking with a few other guys that ran the race.  I was explaining being a Cow or Rhino and they said they would love to have their coworkers hear my talk. Evidently they work with several Cows at a major car dealership.  They said the cows make their life miserable, they are lazy, resist progress and they make them do twice as much work.  Isn't it amazing how selfish some cows can be? Can you imagine in this economy with car dealerships being closed by the thousands having to deal with Cows while trying to save your dealership and your job?  In the face of possible elimination, most Cows will still follow the path of least resistance!

Recently I spoke for a major corporation.  They were having their semi-annual meeting and asked me to do the keynote.  Their goal was to recognize and celebrate a major restructuring that had occurred. Essentially they cross trained almost every employee in a 6-9 month period so each department could work together better, more efficiently and with a deeper understanding of what each job involved. Ultimately by cross training the employees they would deliver a better service and business would increase. This would result in better pay, promotions for the staff and expansion of the company. It was a great plan! Ultimately, it would provide more and better service to their customers and increase profits.

One of the reasons I was asked to do the talk was to address the Cows (without calling them out by name) that remained with company and through the transition.  The Rhinos of the company had embraced the change and supported the company's mission.  The Rhinos got behind the initiative for the good of the company, the people the company served and for themselves.  The Cows however resisted the change and slowed down progress every step of the way.  The Cows wanted more pay for learning more jobs!  In addition, they wanted to work only 40 hours even when occasionally the transition would require more.  Furthermore, they wanted things to remain the same! Moo!

This is one of the most dangerous parts of being a Cow.  Cows hate change!  They resist it every step of the way and they long for the way things used to be.  They resist new managers, new technology, new ideas and new initiatives.  Resisting change is futile.  You will either benefit from change or be the victim of change!  Everyday the economy is changing, technology is changing, consumer demand and preference is changing.  If you don't prepare and welcome change, it will pass you by!

As a Rhino you MUST embrace change and you MUST realize change is a very good thing. All change brings tremendous opportunity! For yourself, your employees/coworkers/managers embrace change and help create progress for your company, your colleagues, your customers and yourself!  Follow the Rhino principle of going the extra mile and you will be rewarded!

Charge!!
Dave