Small Business

5 Management Tips From the Real Horse Whisperer

By Donna Fenn

Updated on: July 19, 2011 / 10:51 AM EDT / MoneyWatch

Buck Brannaman is a rock star horse trainer who was the inspiration for "The Horse_Whisperer" by Nicholas Evans, and the subject of a new documentary,"Buck," by first-time director Cindy Meehl. The film won the audience award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. But when I met Brannaman at the movie's premier in New York, I thought that he might have missed his true calling. The guy is clearly a management consultant in disguise, and probably a more effective one than most I've met.

Brannaman grew up in Idaho and Montana and, with his bother Smokie, was a celebrated trick roper as a kid. The brothers also appeared on cereal commercials and were featured on television shows and at rodeos. Now, Brannaman traverses the country for nine months of the year, teaching four-day horsemanship clinics. "Sometimes I think I'm not helping people with horse problems, but helping horses with people problems," says Brannaman, who eschews force and intimidation in favor of gentle but firm persuasion. "Your horse is a mirror to your soul," he says. "Sometimes you might not like what you see... sometimes you will."

It struck me that Brannaman's methods and his life lessons were also applicable to the business world, where managers and leaders tend to look everywhere but within themselves for cures to organizational ills. Here's what I took away from the film (besides a deep desire to finally conquer my fear of horses):

1. Don't intimidate. As a child, Brannaman and his brother were beaten relentlessly by their father, especially when they did not perform up to his standards. "When something is scared for its life, I understand that," says Brannaman. In the short term, you may temporarily intimidate someone into good performance, but intimidation ultimately leads to fear, which is paralyzing.

2. Loosen the reins. Brannaman routinely wows audiences and students by walking into the ring with an unfamiliar horse and, within minutes, getting the horse to follow him like a dog on a loose lead. Through body language, consistent and gentle corrections, encouragement, and a notable lack of frustration or anger, the horse quickly learns what Brannaman expects.

3. Bribery doesn't work. "All it does is make is make a contemptuous, spoiled horse," says Brannaman. So go easy on the cubes of sugar and carrots. Your goal is to create an atmosphere where good teamwork is steadily acknowledged and appreciated, but where extravagant praise and rewards are reserved for exceptional performance.

4. Tolerate mistakes. "You have to allow the horse to make mistakes," says Brannaman. "The horse will learn from mistakes no different from a human. You can't get to where he dreads making mistakes for fear of what's going to happen after he does." Brannaman's tactic for correcting mistakes involves waving flags and tapping the horses gently with them. It gets their attention and signals that a correction is in order without alarming or hurting them.

5. Acknowledge your own faults. At one point in the film, Brannaman works with an extremely troubled colt that is violent and actually bites one of his trainers in the head. He questions the owner and discovers that the horse, oxygen deprived at birth, has been coddled and kept in a pasture with several other untrained stallions. "This horse tells me a lot about you," he says to the woman. The implication is that she, possibly with the very best of intention, has set her horse up for failure.

One last footnote about Buck: Director Cindy Meehl had a background in fashion and art, but was a lifelong rider who enrolled in one of Brannaman's clinics in 2003. It was Brannaman's story that inspired her to start Cedar Creek Productions and to make a documentary chronicling his journey. Brannaman had been approached by other filmmakers but had little interest in making a film. So why did he let a rookie follow him around with a film crew for two and a half years? Simple. "I knew her, and I trusted her that she wouldn't disappoint me," he says. She didn't. And it all came down to trust. Great leaders know who to trust and when it's time to let someone else hit one out of the park.

Photo of Buck Brannaman courtesy of IFC Films