Daily Iteration

As you probably don’t know, I am a big fan of dogs. Always friendly, loyal, they give you a kind of friendship you just cannot get from humans - but you will only understand this if you have, or have had at some time, a dog. That’s why an article at Computer World, Brown-Nosed, Apple-Polishing Suck-ups and Why CIOs Love Them, caught my attention. It is a short interview with a “leadership development trainer”, and he reflects about why the suck-ups get all the attention in many corporate environments. I quote:

In my classes, I always ask, “How many of you own a dog that you love?” They all raise their hands. Then I ask, “What family member gets most unqualified praise and positive recognition from you?” Eighty percent of the time, the answer is the dog. I ask if they love the dog more than the other members of their families. They all say no. Then why does it get more unqualified praise and recognition? They say, “It’s because the dog doesn’t talk back, it’s always happy to see me, it wags its tail and slobbers all over me.” The dog is a suck-up. And it works. And that behavior gets reinforced.

Isn’t that so true. As always, dogs serve as a good example for us - if you truly understand your dog, human beings become much easier to handle.