Leadership Lessons from the Deer Stand | Week 1
There’s a lot more to deer hunting than sitting in a stand waiting for a deer to walk out.
If you’re a hunter, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Most hunters don’t just wake up on opening morning, throw on some camouflage, grab their rifle or bow, and head to the woods hoping everything works out.
Long before deer season officially begins, there’s already been a whole lot of work going on.
Food plots have been planted. Ground has been tilled. Stands have been checked, repaired, or moved. Shooting lanes have been cleared. Trail cameras have been put out, batteries replaced, and feeders serviced and filled.
Then there’s the equipment.
We’ve got to make sure our rifles are sighted in and our scopes are adjusted properly. If we’re bowhunting, we’ve got to check our pins and spend time practicing.
Because the first time you fire your rifle or draw your bow shouldn’t be when that trophy buck finally steps out in front of you.
And if you’ve ever spent an August afternoon working on a deer stand in Arkansas, you know preparation isn’t always the fun part.
It’s hot. You’re sweating. The mosquitoes are eating you alive. You’re fighting briars and cutting limbs, wondering why you didn’t get started earlier.
But you do it anyway.
Why?
Because you’re preparing for something that hasn’t happened yet.
And the more I think about that, the more I realize how much deer hunting has taught me about leadership and life.
The Work Nobody Sees
Everybody loves seeing a picture of somebody standing beside a big buck.
We see the antlers. We hear the story. We congratulate the hunter.
But what we don’t see are all the hours that went into preparing for that moment.
We don’t see the time spent working food plots, maintaining stands, clearing shooting lanes, or practicing at the range.
We just see the result.
Isn’t that how life works sometimes?
We look at someone who’s successful in business, leadership, or whatever they’ve chosen to pursue, and we see where they are today.
What we don’t always see is everything it took for them to get there.
We don’t see the late nights. The mistakes. The failed attempts. The lessons learned the hard way.
We don’t see the sacrifices they made or the times they questioned whether all the work was even worth it.
And sometimes, if we’re not careful, we start comparing our beginning to somebody else’s years of preparation.
I’ve spent a lot of my life building businesses, leading people, and pursuing new opportunities. And one thing I’ve learned is that most things worth accomplishing require a lot more work than people realize.
It’s easy to get excited about the opportunity.
It’s another thing entirely to be willing to prepare for it.
Everybody wants the harvest. Not everybody wants to do the work that comes before it.
Having the Right Equipment Isn’t Enough
Let me ask you something.
Have you ever known somebody who had every hunting gadget imaginable?
The expensive rifle. The high-dollar scope. The latest camouflage. Trail cameras everywhere. A rangefinder that probably costs more than it should.
They’ve got all the gear.
But having the gear and knowing how to use it are two different things.
You can own the most expensive rifle on the market, but if you’ve never taken the time to sight it in and practice shooting, what good is it going to do you when the moment finally comes?
The same goes for a bow.
You can have the best equipment money can buy, but if you haven’t practiced, you’re not necessarily prepared.
And I think leadership works much the same way.
We can read leadership books, attend conferences, listen to podcasts, and surround ourselves with all sorts of resources designed to help us become better leaders.
And don’t misunderstand me. I’m a big believer in personal development and continuing to learn.
But eventually, we’ve got to put what we’ve learned into practice.
We have to make decisions.
We have to lead people.
We have to have conversations that aren’t always comfortable.
We have to learn from our mistakes and keep improving.
You don’t become a better leader simply by collecting more leadership tools.
You become a better leader by learning how to use them.
Having the right tools doesn’t mean you’ve developed the skills.
Preparation Doesn’t Guarantee Success
Now, here’s where I think this lesson gets really important.
I could tell you that if you work hard enough, prepare well enough, and do everything right, success is guaranteed.
But that wouldn’t be true.
And anybody who’s spent much time deer hunting knows it.
You can spend months preparing food plots, clearing shooting lanes, checking cameras, and making sure your equipment is ready.
You can get up long before daylight, walk through the cold, climb into your stand, and sit there for hours.
And never see a deer.
Not one.
You did everything you knew to do.
You were prepared.
But you still went home empty-handed.
Does that mean all your preparation was a waste of time?
I don’t think so.
Sometimes life works the same way.
You can spend months preparing for a business opportunity that never materializes.
You can work hard for a promotion and watch somebody else get it.
You can invest time and energy into something you genuinely believe in, only to see it fall apart.
And when those things happen, it’s easy to start questioning everything.
Was the work worth it?
Did I waste my time?
Should I have done something differently?
Sometimes there are things we need to learn and changes we need to make.
But sometimes the outcome simply wasn’t within our control.
That’s a difficult lesson, especially for people who are used to working hard and expecting results.
Preparation doesn’t guarantee success.
But here’s the other side of that lesson.
What Happens When Opportunity Finally Shows Up?
Imagine spending all offseason dreaming about that big buck.
You’ve seen him on the trail cameras. You know he’s in the area. You’ve talked about him with your hunting buddies.
Opening morning arrives.
You get into the stand, settle in, and wait.
And then it happens.
There he is.
The buck you’ve been hoping to see finally steps out into your shooting lane.
Except there’s a problem.
You never took the time to sight in your rifle.
Or maybe you haven’t practiced with your bow in months.
Now you’re faced with the opportunity you’ve been waiting for, but you’re not confident you’re ready to make an accurate, ethical shot.
That’s a pretty frustrating position to be in.
And it’s one that could have been avoided.
Life presents us with opportunities all the time. Some are small. Others have the potential to change the direction of our lives.
But those opportunities don’t always announce themselves months in advance.
Sometimes they show up when we least expect them.
A new position becomes available.
Someone asks us to take on a leadership role.
A business opportunity presents itself.
A door opens that we’ve been hoping would open for years.
And suddenly, the question isn’t whether we want the opportunity.
It’s whether we’re ready for it.
I believe one of the greatest responsibilities we have, both as leaders and as individuals, is to keep growing and developing ourselves before those opportunities arrive.
Not because we know exactly what’s coming.
But because we don’t.
The Offseason Matters
Here’s something else I’ve been thinking about.
Deer season only lasts so long.
But the work of preparing for deer season can continue throughout much of the year.
In other words, some of the most important things a hunter does happen when hunting season isn’t even open.
And that’s worth considering in our own lives.
We all experience different seasons.
There are seasons when things seem to be moving forward. Opportunities are coming. We’re accomplishing goals and seeing the results of our work.
Then there are seasons when things seem pretty quiet.
Nothing exciting is happening.
No big opportunities.
No major accomplishments.
Just the same routines, day after day.
Those quieter seasons can be frustrating, especially when you’re someone who likes making progress.
But what if those seasons aren’t simply periods of waiting?
What if they’re opportunities to prepare?
To learn something new.
To develop a skill.
To strengthen a relationship.
To work on something you’ve been putting off.
To become better equipped for whatever comes next.
The offseason doesn’t have to be wasted time.
Sometimes it’s where the most important work happens.
So, What Are You Preparing For?
As we get into another deer season, I’ve been thinking about the work that goes into preparing for the hunt.
And I’ve been asking myself some of the same questions I’m going to ask you.
What are you preparing for?
What kind of leader do you want to become?
What goals are you pursuing?
What skills do you need to develop?
What opportunities are you hoping will come your way?
And perhaps most importantly, what are you doing today to prepare for them?
We can’t always control when opportunities will come.
We can’t guarantee that all our hard work will produce the results we’re hoping for.
And sometimes, despite our best efforts, we’re still going to come home empty-handed.
But I would much rather spend my time preparing for an opportunity that never comes than have an opportunity present itself and realize I wasn’t ready.
Because when opening morning finally arrives, it’s a little late to start planting the food plots.
And when that trophy buck steps into your shooting lane, it’s a little late to start sighting in your rifle.
Preparation doesn’t guarantee success. But a lack of preparation can cost you an opportunity when it finally arrives.
That’s one of the lessons I’ve learned from the deer stand.
And I think it’s a lesson worth remembering long after deer season is over.
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Something to Think About
What are you preparing for today that you hope will become an opportunity tomorrow?
And are you putting in the work now, even though there’s no guarantee of the outcome?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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This is Week 1 of Leadership Lessons from the Deer Stand, an eight-week series by Kris Logsdon exploring leadership, life, faith, and personal growth through experiences and observations from the deer woods.
Join me every Thursday for another lesson from the deer stand.
Grow Today…Lead Tomorrow
Because People Matter
-Kris
