Patience, Repetition, Praise, Discipline, Trust, Problem Solving, Good Tools are required elements of successful horse training and management.  I have several young horses.  I slowly introduce these horses to new things like a horse trailer, to stand tied, clippers, a saddle, a bridle, a river, etc. over time and with repetition.  When introducing a new thing it is better if the horse already trusts you.  I believe you are more successful encouraging a horse to want to do something than trying to bully them into it.  Forcing a 1,200 pound animal is dangerous for both you and the horse.  It does not lead to long term success and buy-in.

When introducing something new at Taylor Studios this same philosophy helps in its long term success.  A couple years ago we added MS CRM to our tool repertoire. When introducing a new, complicated tool you first must get buy-in (trust) from those that will utilize it.  How will it help them do their job better, why should they use it, …?  Then it is important to offer training and repetition.  Repetition is the mother of learning.  CRM was a complicated tool to introduce.  We brought in outside consultants to offer several training sessions.  This tool has helped our marketing efforts.  My knotted rope halters have helped my success in horse training, too.  Good tools can improve our odds of success.

With horses and humans every individual learns differently.  With horse training I have to try different approaches on different horses.  This training takes problem solving and creativity.  One horse will challenge you, the next horse will do something with a little praise, and another horse will need a lot more discipline (make the wrong thing difficult and the right thing easy).  When first introducing a horse to load onto a trailer it could take an hour or it may take eight.  You have to be prepared to follow through and have the patience that it may take hours.

Taylor Studios is a process oriented company.  We have introduced and implemented many new processes over the years.  Sometimes we have to modify new processes after we have tried them for awhile.  We recently implemented a new required daily install report.  This report allows the PM, who may or may not be on-site, to scrutinize if installation is on plan.  It allows the team to make modifications to the plan as early as possible.  The report has been modified after its first test run.  Some lead installers have quickly and easily learned to send in this daily report.  Others have needed more discipline in following this new process.

Both horse training and management are very challenging and rewarding.

This is my half Andalusian yearling Freedom. He is hanging out at the Wall of Knowledge learning how to tie properly.

Posted by: Betty

New Kitten

We’ll call you Jpeg

You traveled from a far away place, known as the farm

In only a few days you have dazzled us with your charm

Are you a girl or are you a boy?

Either way, you are our new company joy

Don’t worry Jack, we are not replacing you

We now have something old, and something new

Taylor Studios has a new addition!

Taylor Studios has a new kitten!

Posted by: Jessica

After four years here at Taylor, I have a small chunk of company history under my belt. Being able to refer back to earlier projects is used as a shorthand way of describing a new project.  This is similar to the way new movie ideas are pitched in Hollywood - “It’s a cross between Thelma and Louise and Bambi, but with nuns…”  So at Taylor we’ll refer to a new job (or a Request for Proposals) as, “It’s like Stone Mountain, but underwater, and with touch screens…”

This is all fine and dandy when we all call a project the same thing. But what about new people, who don’t know that “Synergy” is the exhibit with our amazing floating whales down at Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve outside St. Augustine, Florida (maybe you can see why we called it Synergy, after the designer)?

A project gets its first name when it is going through the bid process. This name usually includes the municipal or state agency if it’s a government job as well as the designer if we are working as a subcontractor. The location gets tacked on at the end. So we end up with something like, “St Petersburg City of - Boyd Hill Nature Preserve - Tampa Bay Watershed Banners.” Just glides off the tongue, right? By the time the project gets to the production floor, things get shortened a bit. There was one job that ended up being called “Rancho Taco Grande” because the real name was so unwieldy. If we can whittle the project name down to one word - sweet! To the uninitiated, it sounds pretty cryptic as staff talk about Frying Pan, Pentagon, or Cleveland, but that’s the Taylor lingo. And one of our new projects does have nuns…

Posted by: Ryan

Pete Salmon, our Certified Interpretive Planner, wrote an article for this month’s Legacy.  Read it here: http://onlinelegacy.org/2009/07/weasels-a-downturned-economy-and-your-exhibit-dollar/

“Business is never so healthy as when, like a chicken, it must do a certain amount of scratching around for what it gets.” - Henry Ford

I read the above quote in a book on the history of the Ford Motor Company 20 years ago and it stuck with me.  It is natural to want life, personal, and work to be easy.  Luckily sometimes it is.  Everything is clicking.  We have more opportunities than we can handle.  Customers are willing to pay a premium for our unique products.  New positions are being created.  Raises are good. Enjoying the fruits of our labor is appropriate as long as two things are kept in mind.

1.    Extended good times can result in very unhealthy practices.  People become complacent.  All decisions are justified with “if it isn’t broken don’t fix it.”  We become like a pampered house cat, fat and happy, but completely unable to compete if required.

2.    Challenging times will come.  You should expect them.  They are not the exception but the rule in business.  Bill Gates said “Profitability is an unnatural state; it requires the constant infusion of energy to sustain.”

With these two thoughts in mind challenges should not be feared.  They should be accepted as “normal.”  They make us “scratch around.”  In the long run they make us leaner, stronger, and smarter.  Even better, by getting through them they become some our fondest memories.  Few memories in life are as sweet as looking back on a difficult period that you were able to get through with hard work and smart decisions.

Posted by: Grant Hughes, Production Manager