Is It Time To Do Things In A Completely New Way?

I have always been one to question how things are being done - much to the chagrin of  companies and organizations I have worked with over the years and the people involved. Early on in my career, my repeated attempts to question the “norm” didn't do much to bring about change, as people just kept shaking their heads as if to say, “Alas, she’s so green . . . someday she’ll understand that isn’t how things work in the corporate world."

As time went on, I continued to be met with reactions such as "she just doesn't get it" or "she's not very smart, is she?" LOL.  Whether I was questioning one size fits all dog training methods in a rescue group or asking questions about processes used in an animal shelter that didn't seem to support the animals in their care or me asking questions about how we could improve on issues in the community I live in. (My favorite response is: "She must not be from around here." - LOL)

It has never stopped me from asking the questions, because I think that is just part of who I am. The reason I felt inspired to write this is because I can't ignore this growing sense that the time is NOW for us all to ask those questions . . .  to point out when things don't make sense and to speak up when we see things that we know in our hearts could be done better. I believe the time is NOW to come forward with even more passion and more conviction . . . to call out the things that aren’t effective and begin working with others to create brand new ways to get things done. Not to tweak existing ways but to come up with entirely new ways of working.

From what I have been observing, clearly there are others sensing this need for change. Recent conversations I have had are indicating that many people are already attempting to implement new ways of working in their current positions and they are finding great success with these new approaches. 

My hope is that by shining the spotlight on this, even more people will step forward and begin questioning if there are better ways to do just about everything . . . not with more rules and more structure . . . with more logic, more critical thinking skills and more heart.

Can we quiet the voices that say, “This is how we’ve always done it” – and instead could we think more broadly and more deeply about how we’d like to work? 

Could we reimagine how we partner with our co-workers? Our customers? Our suppliers? Could we find new ways to work where everyone feels valued and appreciated? Where everyone enjoys what they are doing so much that it no longer feels like "work?" 

Can we re-imagine how the world of animal rescue works? Can we design new ways to approach basic elements such as: saving, protecting, supporting and re-homing animals? 

Can we stay open to the possibility that there may not be just ONE way to do any of these things?? 

Imagine starting from scratch! If there were no limits at all, what could you create? What is the outcome you desire? Could you start with the outcome you want and work backwards from there? What steps are essential to reach an outcome? Can we eliminate the steps that are there "because we've always done it that way"? and find new and improved ways to get from one point to the next? 

 

What if there is no "right way" to do any of this? What if we gave ourselves permission to look at things with both humanity and effectiveness in mind (in the absence of all limits) - could we then tap into brand new ideas that could completely reshape the way we do business? And reshape the way organizations function? Or how a community works together? Or transform our relationships?

My belief is that we absolutely can—the question really comes down to “Will we?”

ps: I added this meme because it makes me laugh so hard every time I see it and because I've heard that people are more likely to read a post that has a picture included - LOL. No offense intended for people who don't like squirrels getting into their bird feeders. 

Things Are Not Always What They Appear To Be

 

I am writing this in the hopes that it can be a gentle nudge for folks to sharpen their discernment skills. We are surrounded by so many opportunities to make assumptions and be led astray. A snapshot can take on so many different "meanings" based on what is written (or not written) to go along with the picture. Whether it is a personal picture or a picture on a business website . . . a sentence, a few sentences or a whole article - I see it happening all around us. This seems to be on the rise even more now than ever, which may require us to be more curious and to ask a lot more questions than we have had to in the past. 

A humorous example of this is several years ago a good friend of mine got chastised by family and "friends" for spending too much time in bars (based solely off his posts on social media). They saw him post artful pictures of cocktails, some group shots and empty plates and glasses. Based on that, people automatically assumed he was betraying his family, being an absentee father, becoming an alcoholic, etc. None of that could have been farther from the truth.

It irritated him so he called up a few of us and said "If you can come over tonight, I'll cook dinner. Oh and bring hats and some books." Of course we all thought "What??" but we complied. LOL  When we arrived he told us about the bashing he was getting and said he wanted to post something "different." We took some pictures with our hats and books and then he posted them on social media with a caption about being at a poetry reading that night. It was a hoot and we had a really good laugh over the whole thing.

It is a perfect example of how easy it is to misread / misunderstand pictures and how easy it is for people to purposely mislead others. Maybe you have seen some of this occurring as well. 

Bottom line, we will be helping ourselves immensely if we take the time to discern what the truth is . . . whether it is through asking questions, tuning into our intuition or any other means to authenticate what we are seeing or what assumptions we are about to make. Maybe it comes down to not automatically believing things unless we personally know the person who made the post or if you are only seeing pictures of "happy employees" while interviewing for a job, maybe you can ask for permission to speak to a few employees one-on-one to learn more about the company from them. Whatever the situation is - the point I am making is that it up to us to be more cautious about what is being shared or presented to us.

In the case of my friend all those years ago, he thought posting pictures of he and his family watching a movie together or a picture of he and his wife when they were sharing intimate time was not appropriate for social media and/or way too personal. He tended to take pictures when he was out with friends, whether it was a work function / offsite or boredom when his wife and kids went out of town to visit her parents. He was just being goofy and those of us who knew him and his sense of humor knew not to make any assumptions about what he posted.

After our "poetry reading" that night, we went for a walk around the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights. While we were out, it started to rain but in the photographs, the raindrops looked more like snow. It would have been so easy to include a caption that said "First snow in California in three decades." Most folks wouldn't have thought twice about it, unless of course they were someone who lived in the neighborhood and knew better. :-) 

I'm not suggesting that we all become paranoid - LOL - just merely offering up that sharpening our discernment skills could help us quite a bit in the current environment we are in. Whether it is accidental or on purpose, it is really easy these days to give people a false impression, skew reality or get people to believe things that aren't true.

Ask your animal a question

Ever wish you could communicate with your animal?  It's easier than you might think.  You don't need special "animal communication" capabilities.  Your animals understand most of what you say, as long as you have been talking around them all their lives and haven't made them wear ear plugs.  ;-)   Animals can give you "answers" to your questions if you give them choices.

I learned this early on with my German Shepherd.  I would ask her a question and give her choices so she could let me know what she wanted.  When I was getting ready to leave the house, I would tell her where I was going and give her the option to stay home or go with me.  I would say "if you want to go with me, go to the kitchen so I can put your leash on, if you'd prefer to stay here while I am gone, you can go to the laundry room.  She'd stand there for a minute, obviously contemplating her decision, and then she would make her choice. Sometimes she'd go to the kitchen, sometimes she'd go to the laundry room.   We have always operated that way.  I give her choices whenever I can, so that I have a better understanding of what she'd like.

I encourage my clients to talk to their animals this same way.  One client asked me which saddle her horse preferred.  I suggested she ask him herself.   I explained that all she needed to do what let him know what she would look for as a "yes" or a "no" as she put each saddle on him.   She put each saddle on him and said "If you don't like this one, shake your head or move your feet around, and if you do like it, stand still."   He communicated his feelings as clearly as she had asked.  She wasn't ready to trust she had really received a valid answer, so she tried it again, switching the order she put the saddles on him.  Sure enough, his answer was the same. 

This kind of communication can become especially helpful when an animal is sick and nearing end of life.  I have worked with many people who struggle at this point, fearful they aren't doing the right things, or that they are making their animal stay around longer than they want to, or that their animal is in more pain than they think.  It is a very real concern.  Anyone who loves their animals is naturally going to be concerned for their animals well being and want to do the best they can for their friend at the end of their life.  

Let your pet know what your concern is, for instance, if you are worried that they are in more pain than you think, tell them that you are operating under the assumption that their pain is not too great.  Ask them to please give you a sign if their pain is greater than you think it is. You can tell them what you'd like the sign to be.  If you are concerned that your animal is ready to go but holding on because of you, let them know that.  Let them know that if they need to go, it is ok with you.  Remind them how much you love them and how honored you have been to spend all those years together and then give them permission to let go if they are ready.  If you are worried that your animal isn't as sick as you think they are, ask them to give you a sign that they are healthy and not ready to go anywhere just yet.  You can give them something specific you'd like them to do, such as play with a favorite toy, to let you know that they feel better than you think.  

Remember that they can understand what you say and giving them clear choices will help them show you what they want and need.  They will welcome the opportunity to communicate with you.   If you aren't doing it already, give it a try.  I am sure you and your pet will not be disappointed.