Are You Throwing Rocks or Cookies?
A Tale of Two Neighbors
Last week, my girlfriend had to go out in the rain and get her dog, Pearl out of the back yard because Pearl was barking at the neighbor on the other side of the back fence. Pearl is a rescue dog and has a highly developed sense of “her” territory. It apparently extends to anything she can hear.
This neighbor, upon moving in several years ago got tired of Pearl’s barking at him every time he was in his own back yard. His solution was to throw rocks at Pearl. It was witnessed, and after being challenged, he stopped throwing rocks. But Pearl never forgave him. As a result, he has no peace in his own back yard unless my girlfriend is home to call Pearl into the house.
When a new neighbor moved into the house next door, Pearl of course began barking at him. His response? He came over, met Pearl and brought her a cookie. There after, anytime Pearl would bark, he would talk to her over the fence using her name and occasionally throw over a cookie. This neighbor is now Pearl’s new best friend of course, so she doesn’t bark at him anymore.
Which neighbor are you?
We are in a tough economy and when people feel threatened it tends to bring out their more primitive, protective nature. You are working with and around “Pearls” every day. Any client, customer, or co-worker can fall into that role.
Yes, Pearl “shouldn’t” feel threatened. Yes, you should expect to have some peace in your own back yard. Yes, the vendor should have sent you the price list. Yes, the customer shouldn’t expect an extra round of revisions for free. Yes, your coworker should have kept his deadline.
So what?
Which are you more interested in, being “right”, or getting the results? Are you throwing rocks or cookies?
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Eric
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Rachelle Chase
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lcourtade