I am an avid dog lover and I currently have 4 of the little rug rats.  At first glance you would never suspect them to be a treasure trove of lessons for both your personal and business lives.  I was sitting here on a Sunday and decided to see if I could find 3 business lessons that I learned from my dogs.  I will do 3 more personal lessons next Sunday.  For now enjoy.

1.Be Loyal – A successful leader has the ability to inspire his subordinates.  He can get them to perform better than they ever thought they could.  This type of leader often shows a deep sense of responsibility and loyalty to his team.  The kind of leader who doesn’t blame the team for failing but rather blames himself for failing to inspire or lead them properly.  Loyalty is a two way street…if you’re loyal to your team then they will return that to you.

2. Be Genuine – Never pretend to be something you’re not.  Don’t try to fake a positive attitude, don’t act one way in private and then another in front of the group.  If you fake it…believe me it shows.  It has become so common in this world, both online and off to try and make people think that you are something you are not.   I don’t understand it myself but believe you me, your team, your friends and your family can all see right through it.  If you be yourself, warts and all, your team will respect you for it and you will generate more loyalty.

3. Don’t Bite – Never bite when a simple growl will do fine.  If the only kind of leadership style you have is the take no prisoners let’s fire anyone who can’t comply then I assure you that #1 and #2 of this list are the least of your concerns.  This kind of supervisor often is able to get great short term results as fear and intimidation make great short term motivators.  The boon of many a company though is that the quality team members who live in fear under this kind of supervisor will jump ship at the first opportunity.  For long term success balance your bark and your bite and you will enjoy a much more sustainable period of success.

 There you go….3 business lessons that came from my dogs.   Dogs inspire love, loyalty and faithfulness from most that own them.  They do it without the benefit of the kind of brainpower that people do….so why do some people have such a hard time inspiring the same kind of loyalty and devotion that dogs can?  Only you can answer that question for yourself….maybe you can take something from my dogs or maybe you’re a cat person. 

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