“Quit” Is Not a Word in the Cotton Lexicon
February 8, 2011 As a 20-year publishing veteran, I have covered a number of industries, from food and drug packaging to the U.S. healthcare system to sales and marketing management.
In many ways, that experience has prepared me for the wild ride I’ve been on since I became the editor of Cotton International. I have seen industries go through a lot of change in a short period of time, but nothing like what cotton endured throughout the second half of 2010.
It’s never easy to deal with so much risk and instability, but rather than crumble under the pressure, cotton professionals in all sectors just seem to work harder.
It reminds me of a story I once read about an ancient warrior who was rich, famous and respected across the land. One day, a boy who idolized the hero asked him why he had chosen to become a warrior. The man smiled and said, “Because I didn’t have the courage to be a farmer.”
He explained to the boy that it is easy to face an opponent who stands right in front of you. But to work in the fields all year long, from sunup to sundown, knowing that a flood or drought could destroy all of that hard work virtually overnight … that takes true courage.
The cotton industry is like that, not just for growers, but for professionals in every sector. We are connected throughout the supply chain, and for the most part, everyone wins or loses together.
After the meltdown of March 2008 and the dizzying volatility of the current market, no one could be faulted for leaving this industry for one that’s safer and more predictable.
But as I paged through the last 15 years of Cotton International Annuals, I saw many of the same people in the pictures and articles, year after year. It’s not at all uncommon, I’ve learned, to meet someone whose family has been in the cotton business for generations.
I wonder if you appreciate how special that is. My father spent his entire professional life with the same company and I always admired him for that. I decided in 2005, after spending the first 15 years of my career at one company, that I would follow the same path.
Less than a year later, I moved 2,000 miles away to work for a different organization, in a completely different industry. Two years after that, I moved back home to work for yet another company. “Men plan and gods laugh,” as the saying goes.
No quit in cotton
It’s always easier to tear something down than it is to build it, and it takes far less effort to destroy than it does to create. Yet time after time, when disaster strikes the cotton industry, people just roll up their sleeves and start to rebuild.
Since the dawn of civilization, mankind has benefited from the determination of people who work so tirelessly to provide the world with food and clothing.
It’s unlikely that a poet will ever compose an epic about cotton professionals, but that doesn’t make your dedication any less noble or important. Homer might not be here to document your odyssey, but Cotton International will.
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