Dog Wisdom - What we can use from their every day in business!
Exploring Hampstead Heath: A Haven of Beauty and Joy
Most weekends I walk on Hampstead Heath in north London. Its an incredible place of natural beauty, ponds, natural swimming, wildlife, ancient trees and paths, wide boulevards, woodlands, fields, the home to Kenwood house, huge sweeping views of London and its spires, turrets and towers! And, most importantly it’s my dogs’ favourite place to walk. When I say dogs, I mean all 3 of them! Yes, I have 3 - and all rescues!
Life Lessons from My Pack of Rescue Dogs
Lesson 1: Enjoy the Moment Like Max
Greek, Portuguese and the smallest is a Gypsy! They love nothing better than to scooby around at great speed in mud, puddles, hurling themselves in to the doggy pond, trying to climb trees after squirrels, chasing balls, sniffing lots of other doggy bums and generally whipping up a lot of fun times and hilarity. It’s one big doggy adventure!
There is a particular tree on the top of one of the hills there. It is in a circle of trees with benches around facing out over the generous and inspiring views, and it’s a favourite place of mine to stop and contemplate things. A few quiet minutes of my week where I sit and look, watch, breathe and just stop.
My dog Max, the most sensible and least bonkers of my pack loves nothing better to sit up on the bench beside me and admire that same view. He always smiles as he surveys all that is before him! And boy does Max smile! Rain or shine, a walk and a little sit on that same bench to watch the world, is one of his, and my, favourite things. He seems to sit in the moment and just be! He will look over at me as if to suggest that this is the best place to be right now, and it always reminds me of Winnie the pooh stories! So, this is my first lesson in dog wisdom, to enjoy the moment!
Max is a 5-star example in how to live in the moment, but then so are all dogs. They don’t dwell on past mistakes, issues, arguments, rubbish work-days or worry about what is happening tomorrow let alone in 5 mins time. He will sit there relishing the moment, sitting next to me on our bench, smiling at the world, soaking up the view, the nature, the tranquillity. I cherish these little moments we have.
It is a reminder to stop and breathe and take stock, clear my mind and just be.
Lesson 2: Bring Positivity Like Winnie
Winnie our ‘Jackeranian’ gypsy dog (she was born on a traveller site near Reading!) at some point in this experience, will bowl into the picture at a thousand knots tail flailing behind her, ears in the air, leaping through the long grass! This is lesson 2! The ability to bring your mood to the environment can change everything! Positive or negative. She is a small pocket rocket of an exploding bundle of energy and pure joy. When you look at her you can’t help but smile, laugh out loud and feel that life is ok!
Her sense of liberation is a reminder to me that we have the choice to respond to situations and it’s in our power to decide how we do that. Workplaces can be stressy and pressurized, but we can still smile, engage and bring positivity to our environment and those around us, despite a deadline! We can appreciate those positive people around us even when in the depths of a hectic, rush of deadlines and expectations.
Lesson 3: Perseverance and Resilience Like Dunga
Dunga is our Portuguese Mountain dog. He’s a lean running machine and likes to lap the heath at least 4 or 5 times on our visits. He’s very determined on getting his kilometres in! It’s a hardcore training routine, and it’s his endurance and resilience test! Lesson 3. To be able to build resilience in our careers and workplaces we need to build a bit at a time, and practise it regularly. Whilst Dunga’s attitude is to visit seemingly every tree that ever housed a squirrel, in the Heath, EVER, it’s also his way of maintaining focus, persevering and its done with great diligence, there is no giving up. One day he will catch one, or so I believe he really thinks that! This is great example of maintaining focus on a core goal!
His perseverance is a quality that businesses and managers or leaders respect and recognise. It enables us to navigate and make progress. All these traits in business enable us to deal with change, fluctuations, proposition pivots, transformation programmes and cultural change as market forces impact or teams ride out the highs and lows.
Now it goes without saying that they are trained and so therefore come back when called (it’s an 80% strike rate with the 2 scoundrels and 100% with fat Max the trash hound (he loves snacks so never goes far and as I said is Mr Captain Sensible!).
Lesson 4: Loyalty and Protection Like a Pack
Dogs aren’t just called our best friends for nothing, they have a stalwart and unwavering approach to this. Its pack mentality, to support and defend. Its non-negotiable. Values, and solid behaviours in the workplace create similar loyalty in our teams and companies. They become the backbone of everything in our culture and business success drivers. Dunga defends Winnie daily on our dog walks. She likes to hurtle around with other dogs, but she is also large-rabbit-sized and incredibly fast so the big dogs like to chase her. It’s a big game. Most of the time! And when she looks a bit overwhelmed or worried Dunga bowls in to bark at the bigger dogs and run them off sideways away from her. His protective nature, his unconditional loyalty and commitment to her is something we can all take notes from.
Additional Canine Traits to Inspire Us
There are countless other examples of pure dogginess that we can all take away and learn from, whether it be taking rest after a prolonged period of exertion, finding balance, sniffing out troublesome types and steering clear - knowing when to back off or stand your ground, giving their all, engaging fully or simply just bringing a lot of heart!
Building a Strong Foundation: Lessons for Work and Life
So looking back and forward, and in the moment right here and now, we can review all these traits and see that this is a powerful combination enabling us to build successful companies, enduring models and to build strong relationships with our clients or within our cultures.
I think we ALL can be more doglike in how we approach business and find fulfilment!
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