It looked like it was snowing yesterday on our patio. Just not that kind of snow. We hadn’t brushed our dog for a few weeks and so the kids and I brushed him. He’s a big, white golden retriever. And he’s hairy. So we brushed him. Soon the patio had piles of white fur all over it. The kids lost interest in brushing and tried making snowmen and snowballs. Our dog wanted to chase and eat it making the brushing a bit more complicated. In the end we had a good laugh and lots of dog hair was blowing around our garden. And not only does our dog look better, there is a lot this shedding happening in the house.
Brushing the dog is one of those things we need to do regularly, perhaps even daily. But we don’t. We get busy. Other things seem more important. It can wait we think. And missing a day here or there does not have a significant impact, but when those days turn into weeks or months, the impact compounds. Procrastination, especially of the ‘little’ things, grows and feeds on itself.
And it’s not just about dogs and dog hair. We see this is other areas of our lives. There are many things we need or want to do regularly, perhaps even daily. But we don’t. Exercise. Writing thank you notes or notes of encouragement. Doing the laundry. Making time for reading everyday. Holding people accountable. Calling out sexism, racism, and other -isms. Having difficult conversations. And the list can go on and on.
We change the culture by regularly showing up. And that’s the hardest part. Showing up even when we don’t ‘feel’ like it. Doing the things, the little things, that make teams and organisations work. And yes, not everything is glamourous. But just because it is not glamourous doesn’t mean it is not impactful.
People like us, do things like this.
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