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A Lesson From My Dog

By Laura Posey

Many of you know that I am the very proud owner of a wonderful 8-year old Ibizan Hound named Gracie. We’ve had our ups and downs over the years together and I’ll admit she’s taught me a lot about myself and others. This past Fourth of July she taught me a great lesson about selling and owning a business.

The short version of this story (you can read the long version on my blog at http://smallbusinessadvice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/07/the-day-i-got-m.html) is that Gracie has been a holy terror on walks since she was a puppy. Barking, pulling, lunging at people, dogs and squirrels – you name it, she did it. I’d gotten to a point where I just avoided all opportunities to take her out, even though I live two blocks from one of the largest and most beautiful parks in Richmond.

Well, on July 4th, I’d had enough. I’d been doing some research into why Gracie was misbehaving so badly and discovered that, yep, I was the problem. It turns out that what Gracie needed wasn’t a friend or more love or more attention; she needed leadership and direction. She needed someone to take charge, call the shots and tell her what to do.

Within 10 minutes we went from her rotten behavior of the past to near-perfect behavior that day and every day since. So what did I learn that translated to business?

1. Lead strongly – other people are not going to follow you as a salesperson/advisor or business owner unless you lead decisively and consistently. It’s okay to tell people what you think and why you think they should follow you.

2. Trust yourself – with Gracie, I’m in charge and I set the tone for our interaction. I decide which dogs we approach, what paths we’ll take on our walk, etc. I have to trust that my instincts are correct and that I’m doing the best thing for her and me. It’s the same way in my business. I have to trust my instincts with regards to business alliances, who I choose as clients and what kind of advice I give them.

3. Visualize the desired outcome – the very first thing I had to do with Gracie was let go of my idea of her as a “bad” dog and get clear about the dog I wanted her to be. I had to visualize the perfect walk with her by my side on a loose leash, strolling happily by every manner of person and creature without a care. It’s the same in business. You cannot achieve an outcome you can’t visualize clearly. Take time to think through every result you want from every interaction you have. What do you want your prospect meeting to look like? How do you want your employees to behave? You will always get what you expect and you must expect positive if you want it to show up.

4. Take responsibility – just as Gracie wasn’t the problem in our relationship, my clients/prospects/co-workers are never the problem in business. If you don’t like the results you are getting, look in the mirror and decide what behaviors of yours you must change. You cannot change anyone else but you can always take responsibility for the outcomes you get and change your own behavior to get what you want.

5. Smile – I realized that while walking Gracie that I wasn’t having any fun so I changed one simple thing on our next walk. I smiled. A lot. Just changing that tiny little facial expression made a world of difference for both of us. If you’re sitting at your desk reading this, just pull up the corners of your mouth for a moment and see how you feel. Whenever you find yourself in a less-than-perfect mood, repeat that action. Things will improve immediately.

Take these five simple ideas and find ways to implement them in your business (and family) relationships. You’ll see immediate results and find yourself in a happier, more fulfilled and more productive state right away!

Laura Posey brings much passion to her work as Vice President and Co-Founder of Dancing Elephants Achievement Group. She is a “firecracker” who likes to create and get things done. Over the years, she has received numerous awards and recognition for her sales and management contributions to different organizations in an extensive sales career that has covered the gamut from insurance to cars. She is co-author of Six Secrets of Sales Magnets. Laura has completed her work on a second book, But I’m not a Salesperson; the Small Business Owner’s Guide to Generating Sales, and is hard at work on her third. Her driving mission is for each of her clients to earn a healthy six-figure income in less than 40 hours per week. She can be reached at or at 804-254-4122.

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