What My Dog Taught Me About Business
๐ถ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐๐ข๐ฎ? ๐๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ค๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด 11๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฃ๐ช๐ณ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ. ๐๐ฆ'๐ด ๐ข ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ต four ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฉ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ช๐น ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐๐บ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ญ๐ช๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐จ. ๐๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ด ๐ถ๐ด ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐จ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ!
After watching my dog, Sam, suffer through a mysterious paw issue for months, and consulting eight veterinarians across three practices, I learned a lesson that reinforced my understanding of business relationships.
Most vets followed a standardized approach: brief examination, quick diagnosis, prescription, and next patient. The revolving door left us frustrated, and Sam was still struggling with his paw.
Everything changed when we found a veterinarian who broke the pattern. She sat on the floor with Sam, asked detailed questions, and explained her thinking in language my husband and I could understand. She collaborated with us as a partner in his care.
This approach led to proper diagnosis and effective treatment.
The solution wasn't more medicineโit was better understanding. Sam is now on the mend, and we've found a veterinary practice we trust. (Dallas folks, message me for the recommendation!)
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐น
When professionals rush to solutions without truly hearing the problem, they create "solutions" that usually cause misunderstanding. I witnessed this when a client was struggling with a consultant who wasn't listening to hear, but listening to solve. The consultant spoke "their" language instead of the "client's" language, creating a communication barrier.
When I stepped in to translate, it broke through the frustration on the account and led to a successful project completion. This reinforced what Sam's vet had shown meโmeaningful connection happens when we truly hear others rather than simply waiting for our turn to provide answers.
๐ง๐ฟ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐:
โข ๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ผ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ
โข ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ธ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฟ'๐ ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ๐๐๐๐ฟ๐ ๐ท๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ด๐ผ๐ป
โข ๐๐๐ธ ๐พ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ๐บ, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ท๐๐๐ ๐๐๐บ๐ฝ๐๐ผ๐บ๐
In today's high-speed environment, deep listening has become a competitive advantage. While others rush to the next client, those who take time to understand create unshakable loyalty.
Are you really listening to understand, or just waiting to speak? Like Sam's dedicated vet, the professionals who stand out are those who master genuine understanding before prescribing solutions.
