Puppies and People: 5 Management Insights

Dale Denham, MAS+, CIO, Geiger

People are much smarter than puppies, but raising a puppy can teach you a lot about how to manage people. I know this because with Tiffany, my family’s first puppy 25-plus years ago, I did everything wrong. Tiffany was never potty trained, constantly barked at nothing and, essentially, drove me nuts. When she did something wrong, I punished her. I always thought she hated me because she never changed her behavior.

This Christmas, Santa brought us a Goldendoodle, so I bought “The Puppy Primer” to help us do a better job this time. As I read the book, I realized I had done nearly everything wrong in raising Tiffany.

I realized Tiffany wasn’t a bad dog, I was a bad owner. I resolved to be a better owner with Karma. This often is the case with management as well. We blame employees when we need to look in the mirror instead. Just like managing people, I still have a lot to learn with managing my puppy. Here are a few things I already have learned about raising a puppy that also apply to managing people.