This is the fifth of a seven-part series where each installment takes a look at an innate ability of dogs and what business people can learn from our four-legged companions. This article talks about how dogs communicate with intent and integrity.
Communicating with Clarity
By Randy Culver
Oliver catches his first glimpse when the approaching dog is sixty or seventy feet ahead on the trail, and I watch these two canines communicate as the distance closes. Oliver’s tail is instantly raised. His head becomes proud with ears up and pointed forward. Oliver was a rescue mutt and either born with a 2/3rds length tail or some injury as a young puppy required it to be cropped. Nevertheless, his tail doesn’t curl when raised; it stands straight up, and now it is quivering back and forth at high frequency.
The dog across from us is a smallish female black Labrador and has been watching intently with her head, ears, and tail also raised, but with some uncertainty. We are now just twenty-five feet apart, and when the Labrador stops, Oliver also stops and lowers his body to the ground, head still upright and high.
The lab signals something back, which I don’t catch; but Oliver raises briefly and pounces back into what is known as down dog in yoga. His rear is high, and he is shimmying his front body back and forth. He is giving the “play bow” signal. The black Lab bounds forward, and the two meet and greet the way dogs do, with much sniffing, marking, and chasing back and forth, until the two hiking parties are apart. Then, each dog breaks off from this chance encounter to follow its group.
If these two were speaking in our language and I was allowed to translate, it would have sounded something like this.
Oliver, in his proud stance, “I’m a good dog and a strong dog, just out walking with my companions.”
Lab, “I think I see that, but I’m a little cautious when meeting strangers.”
Oliver, in his down position, “I don’t mean any trouble.”
Lab coming forward with energy, “Yes, I can trust you now that your intentions are clear.”
Oliver, bounding into and then out of his play bow, then closing the gap with tail-wagging, “Great, I love meeting new friends.” And so on.
What’s just played out among these two dogs is another important aspect of being an effective entrepreneur—communicating with clarity and integrity.
Dogs are skilled at communicating with each other primarily using body language and secondarily using vocal cues. The limited repertoire of body and face positions makes it easy for one dog to understand the intentions of the other. Each dog conveys what it wants or intends in a concise manner. Employees want plain and simple objectives, plain and simple direction, plain and simple talk about the issues. Your potential customers need to quickly understand the value of your products and services.
Not all communication in the work place is happy or easy. Watch how an adult dog corrects a pup that is too playful or acting out of turn. There’s a sharp reprimand, quick and to the point, but not harmful, and once the behavior shifts, there’s no additional communication needed. What a strong example for addressing employee performance issues.
There’s absolute integrity in the canine dialog. I’ve never seen a dog signal one intention and then act with the other. That’s not to say that two dogs have never had an argument that leads to a frightening dogfight with full on aggression. These attacks are scary to witness, but they are never surprise attacks. It is usually a case of one or both dogs feeling the need to protect or two dominant dogs signaling to each other but each refusing to back down. Our dog Heidi prefers to be left alone on the trail. She signals this with her head low and turned, tail pointed straight back, and sideways walking. Most dogs respect her straightforward message; if not, she makes it clearer by turning her head toward the unwelcomed intruder and vocalizing her dislike with barking. No mixed messages here!
As business managers, the integrity of our communications is paramount, and this integrity goes far beyond honesty. We humans, with our diverse language capacity, have the ability to communicate with subtlety and sometimes subversion. Communicating with integrity means that you are able to say precisely the same words to everyone involved—not one choice of words to one employee and a different choice to the other, all in hopes of maneuvering the thinking of each. I recall being taught (and teaching my children) the best thing about telling the truth and not lying is that you never have to remember “what” you told to “who.” Turning this advice to business managers, speak your words as if everyone in the company were present. Write your emails and send your text or chat messages as if the full staff was cc’d. This simple thought exercise can be quite powerful if you use it each time you communicate.
Communication in the canine world is performed with simplicity and honesty, with near perfect clarity. This model is equally effective in the business world.
Continue The Entrepreneurial Dog Series HERE.
Randy Culver is a successful entrepreneur and founder of two satellite telecommunications companies where he has been an executive manager for the past 20+ years. He has proven experience in establishing and managing a product-based business from initial formation through revenues of >$50M. Randy and his team recently won the regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award. Randy has a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Tech and a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.
Although Randy works outside of the pet industry, he knows that core business principles are fundamental to the success of any business. Randy and his wife Susie live in Colorado where they enjoy the companionship of their two dogs. Randy can be reached at randy@amergint.com.