Locked on Target: Leveraging NHLA Insights for Success

Do you know what Buck Fever is? Buck fever is the anxiousness you feel when you see a male deer (buck) and put your gun on it. Sometimes, that anxiousness makes it so you can’t steady your weapon or don’t hold the gun tight enough, so you get a scope bite. If you get it bad enough, it usually results in a missed opportunity. It does not just happen to kids; it gets adults, too. I have seen grown men miss a moose (equivalent size of a 4×8 sheet of plywood) at 200 yards or fog up their scope in anticipation of shooting a big moose they see, only to wound it and go home empty-handed. I like the exciting/anxious feeling; it gets my blood pumping and makes me feel alive. I get that same feeling moose guiding or public speaking, where I am trying to help you get a clear shot at success.

Buck fever doesn’t shut me down, as I am naturally energetic; it does the opposite, and the anxiousness calms me. I use it to clear out everything around me and focus on my target; whether that is a moose or an industry audience for my speech, it is the same. When it comes to public speaking, there are a lot of suggestions on how to view your audience, but I see you as a moose. Like a moose, you are focused on what you must do to survive, looking for food, foes, and family. I happen to be in the same place trying to get your attention long enough to deliver an important message.

This is worth mentioning because I have been traveling and speaking at a lot of industry meetings. I want each presentation to be exciting and engaging for my target audience as we try to turn hardwood markets broadside so you can take a clear shot. I try not to show the same slide twice and never read my slides. I may even dress up in a salmon-colored sports coat or my homemade buckskins.
I may come off as self-centered, but the reason is to get your attention as I deliver important messages about what we need to do. I focus your attention on NHLA’s purpose: to grow and stabilize the hardwood industry. But sometimes, in the excitement, I may say something wrong, not properly credit others, or even offend someone.

That is never my intention; it is buck fever. In my anxiousness, I don’t always come across clearly.
I love public speaking; it is my favorite part of the job but also the most taxing. I can’t be everywhere and at every meeting, so I am training the Chiefs and the rest of the NHLA staff, even board members, to give presentations on behalf of the NHLA. I hope you will listen to them, too.

There are a lot of changes coming to NHLA that will impact your business. So, we have a lot to say at different meetings. I hope you hear it. I hope you listen repeatedly and always walk away with something new. If you would like a speaker at your facility, for an event, or at a meeting, please let us know, and we will figure out how to get there. No matter who presents or the topic, you will be inspired by what the NHLA is doing for and with the rest of the hardwood industry.

As a moose guide and an executive director, I can only tell you what experience has taught me what we should do. I can show you where you must be and even call in the bull, but the shot is yours. Please always listen to the NHLA updates, and know we are trying to grow and stabilize the hardwood market for you. We all get buck fever, but if you listen to what the NHLA is doing, your clear shot at success improves, and that is one common ground we all are prone to believe.

Dallin Brooks
NHLA Executive Director
dallin@nhla.com | 901-377-0182