I grew up on a farm, and so I have plenty of agricultural phrases in my vernacular, but actually all of us have some of those phrases. For example: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Yep, that’s a farm phrase. And hint, I’m going to talk about it next week. But for now we’re talking about this phrase:

Make hay when the sun is shining.

Now, you may have never made hay. You may not know what that means but you’ve probably heard the phrase. Here’s the backstory. Hay is made from growing crop (grass, alfalfa and clover most frequently), and it is cut when it’s very green and very moist, a growing plant. However it must be dry before it can be bailed up to be used and stored.

So you can cut hay when it’s raining, but you can’t make hay and bale it when it’s raining. The sun’s got to be shining. The crops need to be dry. There’s a limited time window. Make hay when the sun is shining. So here’s the point for us as leaders.



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Kevin Eikenberry is a recognized world expert on leadership development and learning and is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group. He has spent over 30 years helping organizations across North America, and leaders from around the world, on leadership, learning, teams and teamwork, communication and more.

Twice he has been named by Inc.com as one of the Top 100 Leadership and Management Experts in the World and 100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next Conference. The American Management Association named him a “Leaders to Watch” and he has been twice named as one of the World's Top 30 Leadership Professionals by Global Gurus. Top Sales World has named him a Top Sales & Marketing Influencer several times, and his blog has been named on many “best of” lists. LeadersHum has named him one of the 200 Biggest Voices in Leadership in 2023.

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