PORK Perspectives is a recurring column that provides business and leadership strategy tips from some of the pork industry’s finest. Meet Denny McKilligan, Innovations leader for TechMix.
Pork producers are under a lot of stress now. That’s what drives TechMix’s Denny McKilligan, leader of the Innovations Team, to find answers to the challenges that keep farmers up at night.
“Our customers are our friends – the best way to help them is to help their animals,” says McKilligan, who resides in Ames, Iowa. “When we develop products or programs that help their animals, we help our customers. In turn, when our customers do better, we get more business because of it.”
For McKilligan, business is relationship-driven. That’s what makes it fun and meaningful, he adds.
“Everyone will have challenges,” he points out. “Stuff happens to all of us. It’s a matter of how we work through it and not just through it, but with character. As you’re doing things, are you being truthful and considerate in the process? And with patience?”
He’s a strong believer in collaboration and bringing in people to tackle problems from different perspectives.
“You never know where a solution will come from,” he says. “In our industry, we rely on scientists with a formal education. That can be extremely helpful. At the same time, there are many people, including caregivers, service providers and others, who have experiences and ideas that can solve the problem. Solutions can come from anywhere and from anybody. So, it’s important to have a multifaceted group to attack these problems.”
Read on to learn more about McKilligan’s 21-year career with TechMix, from his business philosophy to his outlook on innovation in the pork industry.
Q. What is your why?
A. I grew up on a Charolais cow-calf operation. We had some calving problems, and I quickly realized the value of the obstetrical chain to get calves out. Since then, I’ve always leaned toward helping the young calves and young pigs. That’s what drew me to TechMix. Our why as a company is to keep animals drinking, eating and producing – in other words, alive and healthy. I think that’s important with our large operations today – to focus on helping those animals stay healthy so they can produce more.
Q. Describe a typical day on the job.
A. Although it varies every day, my typical day is working with and visiting with customers to understand their challenges. I spend a fair amount of time reviewing literature to find potential interventions, ingredients or methods to help, looking through the science that someone’s already done to help animals live better. I work with the various departments in our company to see that projects are progressing. I encourage team members and make sure they have the resources they need.
Q. What is your business philosophy?
A. Interdependence is better than independence. It’s really cool when people get to the point where they’re responsible and do things for themselves. When you get to interdependence, you reach another level where you’re involving others and working together to solve problems. When problems are solved, there’s dollars to be shared. We don’t make any bones that we want to be a profitable company. But at the same time, in order to be profitable, you’ve got to create value and help producers. If they lose fewer pigs, they have more pigs to sell, and they get more dollars for the amount of pork they produced. I think sales and growth are the fruit of your work, as opposed to ‘Okay, I’m going to go try and make money.’
Q. What do you enjoy most about your job?
A. I love to develop new things that make a difference. I enjoy working with team members and customers to solve problems in a creative way. I have a great team and when we get together to talk, it’s fun to see how our products make a difference in the field for both pigs and caregivers.
Q. How does your company help and work with its customers?
A. Our emphasis is on short-term interventions that improve pig livability. I tell people that one of the best things I can do is to sit on a bucket and watch pigs and the people taking care of the pigs to understand what’s going on in their system. If our team is in the barns and seeing what’s going on, then we can develop a useful intervention. We employ design thinking in our innovation process where somebody comes up with an idea, then we go out and try it. We get feedback, and then we iterate or change it up in some way. Then we come back again, and then we iterate again. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of iterations. But that’s just part of the process to get it to a point where it’s really effective. Figuring out how to do things in the right sequence is key.
Q. How has the business changed since you started?
A. It has become more science-based. By that, I mean we’re measuring our product’s performance with objective standards. That’s even true for livability, where we’re working with a large number of animals so we can get statistical significance. In scripture, it says there’s nothing new under the sun. But there’s a lot of stuff under the sun you can work with. We liken it to putting together different combinations. We use different methods to get in the science to understand the objective results. We’ve also integrated project management so can be more process-oriented as we develop things.
Q. What concerns do you have about the swine industry?
A. My biggest concern is whether advancements and technology development keep up with or surpass the challenges. We have ongoing health challenges that cause pig loss. It’s really frustrating for the caregivers. Labor availability and biosecurity are big issues, too. As we have less labor, we’ve got to develop technologies that can allow these caregivers do a good job. I think the number of people we have on the farm compared to the number of things that need done on a farm can be overwhelming. My concern is whether we can develop things and change quickly enough to adapt so we can continue to provide good care for the animals and a good environment for people to work in.
Q. What are the greatest opportunities in the swine industry today?
A. Collaborative efforts to make progress where people have passion. If you really think about it, most people are passionate about, for example, a certain lifecycle of the pig, or they’re passionate about a particular area of pork production. If you can connect that passion with collaboration, you can make a difference. I like the quote, ‘A rising tide lifts all boats.’ Rather than developing technologies in a silo, if we can develop technologies in a way where others can get better and better, that will be very valuable for the entire pork industry.
Q. Who inspired (or inspires) you?
A. R. G. LeTourneau, the author of “Mover of Men and Mountains” has been an inspiration in my life. He was an industrialist – basically a dirt mover. He invented the first dirt scraper hauled behind a tractor. It’s a great example of a farmer developing things on his farm to farm better. LeTourneau developed new tools and equipment and started getting a lot of earthmoving jobs. Over time, he realized he needed to be in the business of developing equipment. He eventually developed equipment to help other movers and companies. At the same time, he lifted his employees by providing for a variety of different needs, like education and housing. He loved inventing things to help make life better, but he was always looking out for his team and trying to help them, too.
Q. What will the business look like 20 years from now?
A. I think our business will be more process-oriented and technology driven. We’re trying to embrace technology, whether it’s apps to measure things or AI (artificial intelligence) in our product searches and formulas. We want to develop processes that are repeatable. We are trying to make sure we are continually improving our processes and hitting for a higher batting average.
Q. If you could go back and do something differently in your career, what would it be and why?
A. I would learn more about design and development. I think, whether you’re building a product, building a structure or building a formula, if you get the design right, things much better. I would like to figure out how to design things better, so I can be better at solving problems and creating value.
Q. What advice do you have for someone who might like to do what you do someday?
A. You don’t need to have all the answers yourself. I feel like I’m as much of a coordinator as I am an inventor. Use your own skills, but tap into other people’s skills and lift people up as you go. When you help others, it’s not always a direct relationship. But when you help others, it will come back in some way, shape or form eventually.
Q. How will the growing threat of foreign animal disease impact the future of the U.S. pork industry?
A. The longer we go without it, the better off we are. I think if we get a foreign animal disease, we will figure out how to deal with it. When we had porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), that was terrible right away. But there’s actually a lot of good things that came out of the challenges that we got from PED.
Q. What’s one word to describe you?
A. Curious. I’ve had several people tell me I’m like Curious George. I snap at every shiny thing. Although I’m very curious, I want to be encouraging and help others realize that we all have problems, but they can be overcome together.
Read More:
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Victor Ochoa
PORK Perspectives: A Minute with Matthew Rooda
