 We just got a new Goldendoodle puppy. His name is Moby and I have to say, he is pretty cute. Here… say hi Moby… Ok, I think we have established that the dog is reasonably cute. So how can something so cute be soooooo much work? He is a shoe eating, poop making, peeing machine. The other day I took him for a long walk, loaded down with plastic bags to pick up his messes and filled with dreams of wearing him out. The walk was moderately successfully; he was very tired (success), but no business was transacted (troublesome), if you know what I mean. We get home, and we look at each other with pride in our eyes. .. We did it, buddy…awesome walk…so well behaved…we are turning the corner!…breakthrough…! HURRAY! He then gazed into my eyes, showing that dog/human bond that can only be described as a gift from God…then peed and pooped right on the carpet in the living room. Thanks for the present you mangy…count to five, yoga breath…exhale. Alright, so what does this have to do with my normal blog topics? Our family keeps telling each other, as we walk on tiptoes so we do not wake up the sleeping hound or step in a little surprise he left for us, that he is young and, after training him, he will be a marvelous addition to the family. Things will get easier and once they become habitual… I think as business owners, we can learn from the trials and tribulations of young Moby. Change of any sort is difficult and will be unbelievably frustrating. Why should we make this change? Why should we head in this new direction? Sometimes the answers to these questions are nebulous and difficult to understand. And, sometimes the answer is as simple as “Because I am tired of stepping in poop.” If we gave up on Moby now, he would never learn how to integrate successfully into his new family. He would never develop the habits to succeed. The same holds true for businesses. Making small steps toward improvement are exciting and necessary. Things get easier once they become habit, and they cannot become ingrained without repetition. Doing things repeatedly, tweaking along the way, and then celebrating the victories is the key to change. It sounds simple, but we all will undoubtedly “step in it” (gross pun intended) in the beginning, but after repetition and tweaking, improvement will start happening. Slowly and steadily you will see the change happening. To follow the dog training theme, all business owners have accidents, but we have to clean them up and move forward, knowing that it is worth it and will get better. Just be sure to carry plenty of plastic bags along the way. |
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