Inspiring Management Tips

“We listen” is simple tool that results in high employee engagement

Sometimes the work of a manager can be best accomplished by doing something very simple. Both dogs and progressive employers can serve as reminders and role models for this powerful (and free) technique. When Grace ignores a request I make of her, it’s easy to accuse of her of not listening to me. That’s the…

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Treats trump toys

Grace eats anything. And I mean anything. I get grossed out thinking about some of the things I’ve seen her devour and enjoy. Her early days on the streets of Puerto Rico produced a scavenger mentality and I’m not sure if she has any taste buds, just an insatiable desire to eat whatever is within…

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Nailed!

At a cookout this past weekend, a friend was telling me about an experience at her workplace. Her manager had brought her in to discuss some issues with the details of her work and she said it was hard to listen to it. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to know the information; she just…

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This is MY space!

One of the things I like the most about observing Grace is how literal her communication is. The same is true with our cats. Their body language tells it all. If we could observe human interactions with that level of objectivity and detachment, I think we’d often behave differently. There are two instances that illustrate…

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Making the most out of what you have

There are lots of times when we expose Grace to new experiences. Of course some she enjoys more than others. We took her kayaking several times last year, and she tolerated it, but it was clear that she prefers land over water. money for merchants business cash advancestartgoodness.org/defaulttutorial/ This past weekend, we went out again….

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Sometimes you really need to state the obvious—sometimes the obvious just isn’t that obvious Part 2

At last weekend’s “Show and Go” agility event, there were lots of obvious things going on as I described in Part 1. There were also things that weren’t so obvious to me. The whole point of this particular event is to expose the team (handler and dog) to a new environment. We were in a…

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Sometimes you really need to state the obvious—sometimes the obvious just isn’t that obvious Part 1

This weekend, I took Grace to an agility event called “Show and Go.” It’s a mock competition – designed as a way to introduce handlers and dogs to a competitive experience without being judged. We were in a new, outdoor area, with different equipment, surrounded by more people, lots of dogs. My goal was to…

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It’s not my fault!

During a conversation with friends at dinner last night, we were talking about taking responsibility for our own actions. I mentioned someone I know well that is often blaming another person for any and every little bad thing that happens – even though they are the one that created the situation in the first place….

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Are you ready for your next hurdle?

Grace is fast. Very fast. One of my challenges in working with her during agility is to keep up with her! My pictures never quite portrayed that sense of motion and so I asked a professional photographer, Annie Card, to join us in a recent class. I love the way Annie captured our movements; the…

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Teamwork lessons that came from the bin Laden raid

Teamwork, and bringing unique abilities together, was never more evident than during the dangerous mission to find Osama bin Laden that lit up the news on May 1. In addition to the 79 highly skilled and trained Navy Seals that were involved in the raid, there was one dog. Few details are known about the…

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