Paige, Texas · 10 acres
Meet the cast.
Nineteen employees. Zero résumés.
Before there was a ranch, there was Liv & Biscuit. They were there for the career. The moves. The long days. The big decision. The years when Reckless Grace was not yet a place anyone knew was coming. They have provided steady leadership ever since, primarily by sleeping through periods of uncertainty & maintaining unwavering confidence that everything will probably work out if dinner remains on schedule. The ranch came later. They were here first.
Senior leadership. Mighty has been around long enough to know exactly how things should be done and is disappointed that no one else seems to understand the system. He is handsome. Distinguished. Particular. He has seen a lot, prefers his routines respected, and has earned the right to have opinions about nearly everything.
Triumph has nothing left to prove. A former rope horse, he has retired from professional life and now serves primarily as a stabilizing influence on the organization. Calm. Unbothered. Experienced. While everyone else is having a meeting about the meeting, Triumph is eating grass.
Charlie has appointed himself Welcome Committee. He likes people. He likes attention. He likes knowing what everyone is doing. If there is a guest at the fence, Charlie will be there. If there is someone new in the barn, Charlie will be there. If someone appears to be having a difficult day, Charlie is available for consultation.
Young. Talented. Complicated. Ransom is still figuring out what his job is, but he is confident that several of the assignments proposed so far are beneath him. He is smart, athletic, and capable of extraordinary things when the strategic vision aligns with his personal priorities. Negotiations are ongoing.
This is, admittedly, an aspirational title. Leroy is small, determined, and responsible for a statistically significant percentage of internal conflict. He has thoughts about Jim. He has thoughts about the neighbors. He has thoughts about management. Most of these thoughts are expressed with his teeth.
Jim is a large man with a sensitive heart. He would like peace. He would like personal space. He would like Leroy to stop whatever Leroy is doing. Jim approaches conflict with patience, dignity, and, when all other methods have failed, a direct communication style. He contains multitudes.
Slim is tall, black, handsome, and largely unconcerned with administrative matters. He brings energy to the organization. Sometimes too much energy. His interests include running, humming, social networking, and activities that Human Resources has asked us not to discuss in the Field Guide.
Donkey is curious about everything. Every gate. Every bucket. Every tool. Every decision you’ve made. He is still learning that the ranch has infrastructure specifically designed to remain standing, but believes strongly in independent verification. Quietly charming. Increasingly brave. Surprisingly bouncy.
Jagger believes strongly in protecting the ranch’s natural resources. Especially the chickens. The precise definition of protecting is still being workshopped. He takes perimeter patrol seriously, has strong feelings about transportation, and believes every walk around the property should include a comprehensive review of all operations. He is young, earnest, enormous, and trying very hard.
Savannah works independently. She does not attend meetings. She does not provide status updates. She does not believe her whereabouts are relevant to management. Results are delivered on her own schedule and occasionally left somewhere inconvenient.
Izzy is watching. From where, exactly, is not always clear. She maintains a quiet but comprehensive awareness of ranch operations and reserves the right to appear without notice. Nothing escapes review. Findings are confidential.
Max joined us during a period of aggressive growth through acquisition. He has retained his position as a culture hire, offering little to no production value, but an abundance of calm, steady reassurance that all we need is love. Max likes everyone and everyone likes Max.
Lucy leads the department. Whether the department follows her is another matter. She is responsible for strategic oversight, production planning, and maintaining the appearance that someone is in charge. Output remains subject to weather, mood, season, and factors the team has declined to disclose.
The production team. They work independently, set their own hours, and have successfully resisted all attempts to establish measurable performance standards. Some days, productivity is excellent. Some days, there is a meeting in the dirt. Management has learned not to ask too many questions.
Stephanie spent a career building tech companies. Now she handles facilities, catering, waste removal, transportation, procurement, groundskeeping, conflict resolution, capital planning, and whatever happened to the fence. The organizational structure is working exactly as intended.