When was the last time we stretched our budget to buy gourmet cookies for a neighbor or even a friend? Not in this economy. Yet, every day we do just that for our pets, especially our dogs. THE NEW YORK TIMES reports that we're now spending $55 billion a year annually [Source: Packaged Facts] on treats as well as basics for those animal companions in our lives.
Those of us who have studied emotional intelligence [Download CUsersjasneDocumentsjg] see lessons to be learned from animal intelligence. After all, Fido and Muffy have influence over us that most of the humans in our life and even our work don't. With the exception of animals who have been abused or conditioned to be hostile, the lion's share of that impact enhances our lives. That's exactly why we allow pets to dominate the house, take them everywhere in the car, and are thrown into primitive mourning states when they die.
Recent research on how we humans survive and thrive on planet earth confirms how tethered we are to what's in our environment. Mark Matousek, in his new book "Ethical Wisdom: What Makes Us Good" observes:
"In contact with loved ones, our bodies secrete oxytocin and endorphins, while chronically distressing relationships reverse that process, suppressing the immune system and raising stress hormones."
We all know that phenomenon. Upset by the boss, client or customer, we burst into our front door, there is the dog, and that turns the switch from feeling overwhelmed and confused to feeling in-charge and whole.
Eventually, we might connect the dots and find a better cut of boss, client or customer. In their breakthrough book "Angel Customers, Demon Customers," Larry Selden and Geoffrey Colvin deconstruct how much the wrong kinds of business can harm us. Smart enterprises no longer seek to max revenues. Instead they found it's a best practice to find the best clients and customers for their category or niche.
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Scientific research is confirming what might be called The Goldilocks Factor in business and personal life. We have to search for the right fit of the environment for how we human beings are hard-wired.
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Animal intelligence is focused on the now. Therefore, its memory bank doesn't allow safe storage of resentments. Every day is a new day. Fido might do a dump next to my bed if I am late to walk him. But that's all forgotten once I fulfill my part of the social contract. Wouldn't those professionals we need in our business be more receptive to us if they sensed we were not carting around decades of grievances?
I haven't met an animal yet who doesn't accept the world as it is. There's accommodation, not complaint. Instead of railing against the lousy economy which seems to be slowing again, why not just embrace the new normal and roll with it? We may be earning less for a writing assignment but at least we're earning. A bone in the bowl is better than the bone we assume is due us.
And, third, part of animal intelligence is the hunger for physical contact. My two cats Jason and Carlotta are not interested in having a Facebook page. They want me in the flesh. Marketers are just recognizing this need for man the social animal to "meet up" with other human beings. Online is expanding to have a presence offline. Social events experts are busy again.
A few months ago I experienced that internal paradigm shift in which I integrated what I observed to be effective in business relationships and let go what had generated success in the 20th century. New assignments came in effortlessly. My hunch is that I took to heart what my animal companions since 1978 have been trying to show me about managing reality in a context in which all the players make out just fine.
Disclosure: After writing about Matousek's "Ethical Wisdom" as a happy consumer of enlightenment for weeks, I have been hired by the author to help with the publicity. What an honor. [Here's an excerpt from "Ethical Wisdom" Download PagesfromMato_9780385527897_5p_all_r1-1]