If you’ve been following our work over the last 20 years or so, you could skip this post (but please don’t). You know what the reference to Contented Cows is all about, and therefore our reason for titling this blog “Daily Dairy”. But keep reading. A refresher never hurts. However, if you’re new to Contented Cows, and a lot of this blog’s visitors are, here’s the deal. Contented Cows Give Better Milk. It’s established science. In the same way, satisfied, engaged employees give better performances at work. Now – let’s hasten to point out that we are not, repeat not, suggesting that people, at work or elsewhere, should be compared to cows. So please, no hate mail bashing us for saying that people are like cows. We just said they’re not. But I think you get the connection. And that connection always finds its way to your bottom line. We’ve written four books to support our thesis. If you want to know more, you can find our books on Amazon, among other places.

Even though we were among the first to document and publish the connection between people and profit, we’re not the only ones who’ve done so, especially of late. Many others, most with bigger budgets and bigger megaphones, have echoed what we began saying 20 years ago –  Inc Magazine, Fortune, Glassdoor, just to name a few. And we’ve never seen a study, credible or otherwise, debunking the notion that employers with a strategy around leadership, employee engagement, and workplace quality, perform better than their competitors that don’t have such a strategy. We try, in most everything we write, and when speaking from the platform or the corporate classroom, to include practical, actionable items that you, as a leader, can do to create a more focused, engaged, and capably led workforce. So, in that spirit, here’s something you can do today: Identify the 2 most valuable members of your team. Sit down with each of them, privately, and ask, “What is it about this place that keeps you here?” Then, use what you learn to help mold and shape the workplace for the rest of your team. Contented cows give better milk. Focused, engaged, and capably led workers produce better outcomes. This is a business issue, and it’s a strategy that you as a leader can pursue with pride.