Field Note No. 1 - Ready to be Picked?

How to grow without getting stuck in the trellis.

Welcome to Field Notes

After 30+ years leading teams, scaling operations, and coaching people through change, I find myself building a small farm, complete with livestock and produce — where I now lead mostly animals, compost, and fruits & vegetables.

Turns out, there are lessons in both places.

This new series — Field Notes — is where I reflect on leadership through the lens of nature and farming. Some entries will be short, some will stretch out like a vegetable vine, but each will aim to leave you with something useful, memorable, or at least smile-worthy. Think of it as a professional journal with dirt under its nails.

So here’s where it begins: with a cucumber that stayed on the vine a little too long.

FN-01: Ready to Be Picked?

Sometimes the lesson is just hanging there… wedged in the fence.

If you’ve ever grown cucumbers, you know how sneaky they can be. One day everything looks tidy — vines are climbing, blossoms are blooming — and then, boom: a monster cuke, hiding in the shadows. It’s managed to wedge itself into the trellis and double in size overnight. Crooked. Tough. Stuck. Not great for eating, unless your goal is a blue ribbon in county fair absurdity.

I found one like that the other day. And as I stared at it, I thought about feeling stuck in a job.

More specifically, I thought about people I’ve worked with — good people — who stayed in a role too long, waiting or wanting to be picked. They stopped growing on the trellis and started growing into it. Not because they lacked talent, but because they didn’t notice what they were becoming.

The truth is: even good fruit can go bad if it hangs on too long.

Some people — the really sharp ones — grow differently. They don’t just wait. They are ready. And when the opportunity comes, they’re easy to pick. Crisp. Bright. Perfect for the purpose.

Think about the humble gherkin. It’s picked early, on purpose — not because it wasn’t good enough to grow bigger, but because it was perfect for a different use. A different role. That’s not underachievement — that’s readiness with range.

The best people I’ve worked with didn’t wait for someone to tell them they were ready. They were already behaving like the person needed for what came next.

You’re ready to be picked when...

• You can explain your value without needing applause.
  You’re confident in what you bring, even when no one’s clapping.

• You spend more time fixing systems than growing them.
  You’ve become the duct tape, not the design. You’re patching more than planting.

• You’ve started criticizing more than creating.
  That’s the cuke that looks good on the outside but is going tough and bitter inside. Criticism starts in the heart before it ever hits the lips — and it’s hardest to spot unless you look hard in a mirror.

• You’ve stopped asking questions.
  Not because you know it all, but because your curiosity has cooled.

• People start asking, “So what’s next for you?”
  As a middle aged single man….well….I once asked a woman why she wasn’t married yet — on our first date. (she married me anyway.) The point is: always be ready. Good leaders will notice when you are. You shouldn’t have to say it out loud.

The goal isn’t to grow as long as you can.
It’s to grow with purpose — and purpose is a vector. So when the moment comes — whether it’s a new role, a new challenge, or a new setting — you’re already shaped for it.

Don’t grow into a pinch-point.
Always be harvestable.
And don’t get complacent in the shade — you’ll only be seen when the leaves are moved.