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BENTZINGER

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The purpose of this website is to serve as a practical guide to practical things. Everything here is free. I have collected these thoughts from my family, my teachers and my friends. This site is intended to honor those who have helped me along the way. My hope is that this collection of thoughts can help others. My parents taught me that is always good to share. So if you find any of these thoughts to be useful, please share them.

I don't have everything figured out. Certainly, I don't know all of the answers. Some of these reminders have helped keep me on the right track.

This is a work in progress, so come back and visit.

-Dan Bentzinger-

OUR FAMILY

OUR FAMILY

ABOUT ME

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

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PRINCIPLES

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

YOU

The Basics

Know your brand. Be willing to get feedback from your friends. Your best friends will be completely honest with you.
Stay organized. Keep your desk clean. Don’t make other people clean up your messes.
Don’t collect junk that you’ll never use. It just adds unnecessary stress to your life.
Maintain a diverse set of friends. You will need them.
Be a good friend to a diverse set of people. They will need you.
Assume your parents are reading your text messages and emails. In this day in age, nearly anything you do, say, or write can be transmitted around the world in seconds. Don’t blow it.
Stay in decent physical condition. Maintain a good diet. Drink more water than soda. Exercise.
Pick good friends that will keep you out of trouble and help make you smarter.
Don’t lie, cheat, or steal.
Big accomplishments are supposed to be hard. Be willing to out-work, out-study, out-plan, and out–hustle your competition.
You get more power by giving information away. Share what you know.
If you make a mistake. Admit it.
If you are the boss, you are responsible. Take all of the blame for a failure and distribute all of the credit for a success.
Get plenty of rest.
Call your Parents – even when you don’t need anything.
Marry for love.
Work for fun.
Don’t drink and drive. Never. Don’t do it. One mistake can change can easily alter many lives.
Read.
Go to church.
Make deposits in your relationships – before you need to take a withdrawal.
When you are asked to complete an assignment, do a little extra. Every assignment has the potential for extra credit … even if none is given.
Know how to spell. Proofread your work. Take the time to tidy up your document. Appearance matters.
Always be on time, by planning on arriving early. Don’t make people wait on you.
It is OK to say “I don’t know” … but always be willing to go find out.
If you say you are going to do something, do it. “I’ll try” or “If I get around to it…” are not good answers.
Say “Please” and “Thank you” a lot.
Write letters. Send thank you notes.
Be humble and modest.
Go to family reunions.
Try not to miss funerals. You are not going for the deceased. You are going to pay your respect to the family. You won’t know what to say. Go anyway. You don’t have to say anything.
Know how to accept a compliment. Smile and say thank you.
Stop to watch sunsets and enjoy every rainbow.
Don’t be late for work. Don’t be late for dinner.
Ask questions. Be interested in others. It is more important to be interested than interesting.
Don’t just stare at your phone. Be in the presence of those around you.
Make eye contact. Have a firm handshake.
Save a little bit of money from each paycheck. Someday, you’ll be glad you did.
Every day won’t be easy. Life is not fair.
Take time to pray.
Count your blessings.

MANAGEMENT

Running Projects

Nothing costs a million dollars or takes a year. The effort should be broken down into manageable chunks. Any larger effort is not a project at all; it is a “quest”.
All ideas are not valid projects. We have to walk away from some ideas. From the beginning, outline the conditions for declaring victory. Plan the Finish.
It is acceptable to be over budget on the planning phase of your project.
All projects are a compromise of Quality, Duration and Cost. You can only select two factors; the other one is determined by your selection. Good, Fast, or Cheap. Pick two.
Fail Fast. Create prototypes in a small controlled environment. Learn from those mistakes. Only after you have made a few mistakes, commit to a large-scale effort.
Do not make decisions based on sunk costs.
Hold vendors accountable for their promises. There should be no distinction between sales and delivery.
The simple approach is always better, cheaper, and hardest to design.
In times of crisis, communicate your activity on a very frequent basis. In the absence of updates, people are left to assume that you are ignoring their problem.

On Management

Keep a good balance between work and home. Recognize that your employees deserve the same.
Top 3 reasons why people like their job. 1) Boss 2) Peers 3) Project Challenges.
Manage by a summary of the facts. Avoid making decisions based on anecdotes or a single data point.
No company has ever failed for a lack of good ideas, they fail because they are unable to select the five best ideas and implement them. It is death by a thousand initiatives.
Everyone is in charge really means that no one is responsible. Always assign a single point of authority and accountability.
If the plan is in a binder, the binder is probably on the shelf and then you don’t really have a plan.
If you set low expectations, you will get low expectations in return.

Dealing with Executives

Make your point in the first 15 words of a conversation.
A two-page document is 50% less likely to be read than a one-page document. Any document over two pages will not be read at all. However, a single picture (especially in color) will be studied.
Do not speak in terms of hours, full-time equivalents, or level of effort. Their language is dollars and dates.

Your Career

Always be prepared to lose your job. It will make you more effective in the job you have.
If you aren’t adding value, suggest new responsibilities to your supervisor.
Focus on the things that you really enjoy about your job and minimize all else.
Always seek ways to add new tools to your toolbox.

FAMILY

Direction for fathers

Being a Dad has exceeded every other challenge and expectation. I thank God every day for wife and family. So much about being parents just has to be figured out on the fly. They don't arrive with instruction manuals. Each child and each situation is unique and different. What worked for one kid, may not work for the other. Here are some good things to remember...

The best gift to give your children is time. Not quality time. Quantity time. Lots of it. Stop being busy. Stop buying things. Put down the phone. Turn off the TV. Stop going places. Stop running. Sit on the floor. Read books. Draw pictures. Watch. Listen.
Pay attention. Don't miss anything. Take lots of pictures.
Eat dinner together, as a family.
Be a coach, a 4-H leader, or a class room volunteer.
Learn about their hobbies and interests and make them your own.
It is easier to learn how to ride a bike in the grass. The soft grass removes the fear of falling. It is easier to try new things when you have the loving support of your family. The soft hugs remove the fear of failure.
Teach them about God. Pray together.
Tell your kids that you are proud of them. Over and over again.
Make sure that your give your wife a vacation from being a mom.
Make sure your kids will come to you when they are hurt or just want to talk.
Schedule one on one time with each member of your family. Do something that they want to do.

Direction for husbands:

When we surprised my mother-in-law-to-be with the news of our engagement, her simple advice was to "keep surprising each other". I will never forget those words.
Flowers on Valentine's day are nice, but expected. Flowers on a normal, regular, run of the mill day are awesome.
Little notes can be better than big gifts.
Have date night. Spend a weekend together without the kids.
Love is not trying to figure out how much I can get out of a relationship. Love is trying to spend part of each day figuring out how I can make that other person’s life better.
Don’t keep score.

In honor of our father

Louis Dean Bentzinger
"The Eulogy"

On behalf of my mother, my sisters, and our families, I want to thank all of you for being here today.
It means a lot to our family. The support from this community has been nothing short of amazing.

I am Daniel and I am the "little brother."

There is so much to say ... and yet, nothing left to be said.

It can be difficult to accept that two opposite feelings can both be true at the same time.

Today, we are both happy and sad.

Grateful and overwhelmed.

Because of God's promise, we are not afraid, and we are never alone.

If there are tears, let them be tears of gratitude.

Our dad would have so enjoyed every conversation. He would want to know your name, how to spell it, where you are from, and how you fit in.

Today, it is also okay to laugh. Our dad would want us to have fun.

----

Dad was not perfect, and yet, in so many ways, he was extraordinary.

As you know, Dad was our historian, and he enjoyed preserving memories. At gatherings like this, he was well known for being the man with the camera. He documented things very well. If you are a cousin or a grandchild, I am putting you on notice that you will be expected to line up against some wall for a photo. Dad would want this.

You are not in trouble. "That is just how it is going to be!"

----

Dad was classically born and raised during the Depression, which means he knew how to stretch a nickel. He saved things from our past and from previous generations.

We are so thankful for those historical treasures.

But honestly, we could have done without the 31 old lawn mowers that he kept for spare parts.

Dad had a lifelong instinct to provide, protect, and preserve.

We have thousands of well-preserved photos, and over time, we will be sharing those photos with cousins and family members.

Also, let me know if you need a three-and-a-half-horse, vertical-shaft Briggs & Stratton engine. I can set you up.

----

I do not know if our father was a good businessman.

He did not really have the "killer instinct" to maximize profits by taking advantage of another person.

If success as a farmer was measured by the biggest tractor, the most land, a new pickup, or a pair of blue Harvestores, he probably didn't stack up very high by those metrics.

In a small community, relationships are more obvious and more important.

The best man in his wedding was the banker.
His brother-in-law and nephew owned the hardware store.
His good friends ran Cook Grain & Lumber.
He went to church with his neighbors.

If you count the things that truly matter:

Lending a helping hand to a young farmer,
Helping someone who was down on his luck,
Preserving the topsoil,
Keeping the weeds down,
Supporting a local business,
LOVING YOUR FAMILY

Then, by those measures, I'd like to think he was a darn good farmer and a very good neighbor.

-----

Dad never had any real enemies.

Unless you count:

The Musk Thistle,
The Cocklebur,
Bindweed,
And, most recently, the Tansy Mustard plant.

Good Lord, he despised those things!

As we imagine Heaven, the Bible does not provide any explicit detail about the 'flora and fauna' we may see there.

My prayer is that Heaven does not include those weeds. If they do exist, he'll find them!

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Dad always felt the need to preserve the past.

He always remembered dates and people.

And Dad would want US to remember HIM. We will lovingly do that today.

Dad definitely wanted to be 'seen' and 'heard',
But without ever being the 'center of attention'.
He humbly let the room revolve around him.
He never demanded it by being loud or arrogant.

He was quick with a one-liner, a comment, or a story.

Some make you laugh.
Some make you think.
And, well, some might make you shake your head.

We will always call those "Louie-isms."

I am sure most of you have your own collection of "Louie-isms".

As we celebrate today and always, we would love to hear your stories.

Dad would love to know that he is being remembered.

-----

Dad always gave us a lot of advice about public speaking.

He famously had the "2-B" rule:

Be quick.
Be seated.

So, that is good news for all of you. We could be here all day.

There are a lot of Louie stories!

------

As I was keeping vigil one night this week, one single story kept coming back to me. I am the only witness to this event, and I have decided to share it with all of you today.

This was my first day to drive the "big tractor." I was probably about 11 or 12 years old, barely big enough to reach the pedals.

A Massey Ferguson 180. By today's standards, the tractor was not that big.

But it was OURS. It was RED, and it was COOL.

I had already logged several hundred hours on the fender, watching every move my dad made.

Today, it was my turn. I was in the tractor seat and Dad was on the fender.

For me, this moment was equally terrifying and exciting. My heart was racing.

To get started, I simultaneously bumped the throttle, eased off the clutch, and lowered the implement with precision. It was a "choreographed dance move" that I had practiced thousands of times in my head.

I was sure I was doing a good job ... until I wasn't.

Turns out, the unspoken objective was also to create a really straight line.

As some of you probably know, Dad was more than a bit particular about some things.

Straight rows were important.

I was staring down at the front tire and trying to micro-steer the tractor to keep it in line with where I wanted to go.

After half a round, he did not yell at me.

Instead, he put his arm around my shoulder and, with the other arm, pointed over the hood of the tractor and toward the horizon. In a voice firm enough to get my attention and loud enough to be heard over the roar of the diesel tractor, he said:

"Don't look down. LOOK UP!"

"Pick out a fence post, a tree, or a telephone pole in the distance. The tractor will go where you look."

"Find your guidepost."

Then, after a couple of rounds, the real magic happened.

He jumped off the tractor and drove away in the pickup.

That was his way of signaling that he trusted ME to finish the job.

When he came back, I got the coveted "pursed-lip nod of approval" and a confident, "Good job."

My 'racing heart' was now bursting.

It. Was. Glorious.

Years later, I told Dad that I had used his "Pick a Guidepost" instruction a lot throughout my life.

A goal,
A problem, or
A complex project at work.

Think long term.

Look way down the row.
Find your destination.
Set your objective.
Go straight there.
Don't get distracted by the nuance of the day.

DO THE RIGHT THING.

A simple instruction given while driving a tractor has guided me for decades.

Looking back, I do not think Dad intended to give me lifelong advice. I think he just needed to get some fieldwork done. However, we both got what we needed that day.

------

As we gather here today, I more fully understand his guidance.

Dad always had a guidepost.

When Dad moved to Good Samaritan in November, he wanted a cross on the wall directly in front of his chair.

He has always been very clear about his destination.

Turns out his most important guidepost was not a tree, not a fence post, and not a telephone pole.

It was another piece of timber.

That cross.

A "forever home with Jesus" has always been HIS ultimate destination.

Dad would tell me that he did not worry, which I found almost impossible to comprehend.

Being a dryland farmer, you could find yourself overwhelmed with worry about ... EVERYTHING.

Will it rain?
Will it stop raining?
The price of grain.
The price of inputs.
Bugs.
Weeds.
Disease.
Wind and weather.

To survive on this land, you quickly learn that you have to be tough

and you have to be a person of tremendous faith.

Our Dad was both.

His last words to us upon each visit were often:

"Never stop praying."
"Pray day and night. Keep praying."
"Oh man, we need to pray."

-------

Mom and Dad used their devotion book daily.

Not once in a while.
Not only when they were scared.
Not only when they were happy.
Not only when they had extra time.
Not only when people were watching.
Not just recently.

EVERY DAY for 71 years of marriage.

Mom, thank you.

The family Bible is brilliantly tattered and torn with layers with tape on the binding.

There are markers in place for the next reading.

I imagine the bookmark is already set for tomorrow.

------

Dad, you've reached the end of your row here.

You've lived life well, and you've left decades of straight lines for us to follow.

We are so grateful for the direction you have given to all of us.

Dad, today, as we celebrate your entry into Heaven, we also return your earthly body into the forever embrace of the Nebraska soil that you dearly loved.

As most of you know, the cemetery is not just any cemetery. It sits on the corner of the farm where he:

Was born and raised,
Lived and loved,
Worked and toiled.

Today, Dad, YOUR work is done.

No more pain.
No more worry.
No more weeds.

We will finish the job.

Today ... with you ... WE LOOK UP!

Rest in peace.

We love you.

https://www.fusselmanallenharvey.com/obituaries/louis-bentzinger

LOUIS DEAN

CONTACT

BENTZINGER

dot com

OUR FAMILY

ABOUT ME

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

In honor of our father

Louis Dean Bentzinger "The Eulogy"

Contact me

Louis Dean Bentzinger
"The Eulogy"