I recently went on a goat trek — a delightful hour of walking through wooded acres with 20 goats along for the journey. Sometimes we walked them on a leash (to keep them from eating the grapevines) but most times they were free to roam in the woods and eat to their heart’s content. The owner called it a candy store where all sorts of vegetation were available for their choosing.
The interesting part to me was that goats don’t like to eat grass. I think it’s the stereotype of what people think they do eat, but in reality, goats only like to eat weeds. It makes them the perfect animal to reduce overgrowth along the trails and to save humans from weeding.
Most would see weeds as undesirable, but the goats love them. It’s a good example of matching skills with the right job. How can you do the same with your human employees — finding something that a person loves that others may wish to avoid? Maybe you pair an extraverted job with an extravert or vice versa with an introvert. Perhaps someone loves the behind-the-scenes detail work that would bore others to tears. Maybe someone wants to travel or work in the outdoors while others want a job that keeps them at a computer screen all day.
The goats love weeds but not grass. Find what your employees love and let them fulfill their days with it.
