Employment Research Institute's CEO A. Harrison Barnes in a webinar discussed the importance of having fences around everything and knowing exactly who can and who cannot enter into it. Harrison believes that this is by far one of the main factors that could either lead to success or to failure.

Drawing from his law school days, Harrison relates his observations while living on a cattle ranch in Albemarle County. He learnt that the farmers made hundreds of thousands of dollars a year just by watching over cows. However, he also learnt the fact that the biggest challenge to them was in maintaining fences, and that their entire livelihood would be at risk if the cows were stolen, or they wandered off, or disappeared into the hundreds of square miles of forest. Hence, the ranchers made very sure that they protected their cattle and that their fences were always well maintained.  

Harrison believes that most people are ranchers in a certain sense and everyone has their own cattle, which means that you need to keep certain assets which are always at a risk of escaping from you, fenced in. Your cattle are your employers, friends, close associates, customers, clients, and loved ones. You need to keep in close contact with them at all times and show an interest in their lives. With employers, you need to be in their good books and always make sure that they understand your value through your contributions and efforts. If you do not maintain your fences with your employer, sooner or later, you could just be out of a job. Nothing is worse than being perceived as someone who has ‘wandered outside the fence’, and nothing better than one who is a part of the ‘herd’.

In conclusion Harrison stated that you need to have a very good understanding of who to keep within and who to keep out of your fences. You need to maintain fences around the things that are most valuable to you in order to be successful and happy in your life and career.