Category Archives: The Dog Star

It hit 66° today, April 1, close enough to my minimum of 68 to justify the top down, so the pack went to get the mail down at the end of the drive. It was Bentley’s first Bentley trip. We drove around the circle, as well, breeze in our ears!

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

A contractor is replacing all of our bluestone around the house with a stamped concrete. (Bluestone is dreadful. It’s attractive but splits, splinters, buckles, and calls you names. The installer didn’t know what he was doing, the repair guy was a disaster, and the third guy didn’t even return with the promised estimate. Apparently, bluestone installation is where all the incompetent contractors congregate in Rhode Island.)

I went to talk to him, and Bentley appeared in the doorway. “Whoa,” said the contractor, “what a great looking dog. Is he friendly?” (Bentley’s ears are up and his tail is wagging and he has the dopey dog grin, but it’s still a wise question with 65-pound German Shepard.)

“Sure, he’s only a pup. He’s six months old.”

“That dog is six months old?! He would have fooled me!”

It occurs to me that many people take Bentley for a full-grown dog, when he actually has the disposition of a puppy—all that energy, not a great frame of reference, full speed as the sole speed, and unaware of his effect on people. Yet many people I see in professional services are very similar.

People see them as adults but they act like puppies.

A couple of days ago I critiqued a proposal with seven errors on the first page. That’s not easy to do if you’re paying attention. But “their” and “they’re” are two different constructions, and commas go inside quotation marks in American English.

I watch consultants throw themselves headlong into situations with no perspective, too much speed, and a lack of self-awareness. They talk too much, don’t follow up, try to impose their own methodology rather than discern client need, and have little awareness of their actions—dumb messages on their voice mail; using a knife like a dagger at lunch; dressing poorly; intimidated by the buyer.

If you don’t know proper grammar or which fork to use, that can be remediated. Those are simply skills to learn. But if you don’t ever bother to find out or don’t care to improve, those are reactions and behaviors which are immature and undisciplined.

Are people expecting an adult from all appearances, but forced to deal with a puppy? If so, expect to be sent out to the yard.

We know, in about six months, Bentley WILL be acting like a young adult. How about you?

© Alan Weiss 2013

My next car has eight gears, but this Bentley only has one–flat out.

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

Bentley is a member of the American Kennel Club, the German Shepherd Dog Association of America, and the White German Shepherd Dog Association of America. There is along-standing, political, acrimonious argument about allowing white German Shepherds to be “shown” in competitions such as Westminster (they can currently compete in various performance competitions). I won’t go into the imbecility of this debate (recessive genes, demeaning the breed, various blood lines) because dog people at this level of intensity are unbearable. I was once telling the wife of a doctor who is a Westminster judge just how ignorant she is, in some detail, when she made disparaging comments about white Shepherds, as my wife and the boutique owner ushered me out of the place, I believe at gunpoint.

I tell you this because I’ve just received a communication from the aforementioned WGSDAOA asking that we vote for a proposal being put before the GSDAOA to petition the AKC to allow white German Shepherds full admission to compete in all events. (Koufax would have told them all he had better things to do, and Bentley would organize a massive game of fetch.)

The truly memorable aspect is that I received the “disqualifyers” that would remove a dog from the competition even after the breed were to be accepted. They are:

1. Noses that aren’t black.

2. Ears that droop or are cropped.

3. An underslung lower jaw.

4. Biting a judge.

I am not making this up. Biting a judge gets you disqualified. And they need to tell you that. The only reason I’d go to these events would be if I had some reasonable expectation that the dogs of any breed might be biting the judges.

© Alan Weiss 2013

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

Bentley went to our Bentley dealer today (along with Buddy Beagle) to let everyone meet the official dealership mascot. While we were there, we designed my 2014 GTC Speed Convertible, which should be completed in about six months.

© Alan Weiss 2013

In response to popular demand…

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

I’m watching Bentley, now four months old, learning to be a German Shepherd, his destiny in life. He’s smitten with predatory drift, and will chase anything that moves. But he also knows now to check where the squirrels usually hang out. He knows when he gets fed, and what merits a dog treat (relieving himself in the yard, fetching a ball), and where the dog treats are kept (bottom drawer).

He’s not quite sure about the truck, a non-Shepherd-DNA endeavor, so he’s learned how to get in, but is still uncertain how to sit comfortably. (This may be because he grows every five seconds.) In my Bentley yesterday, he started the convertible top down by stepping on a button with his huge paws (it operates when moving under 20 MPH).

As he grows, he trusts his judgment about some things and not others, learns what works and doesn’t work, and is open to teaching. He has learned how to learn.

I find that some consultants learn facts or situational responses, but can’t integrate the learning. They’ll ask me the same question every time the same situation arises. (“Why won’t she call me back?” “Because you’re  not dealing with a true buyer.”) Their own “predatory drift” is “methodology drift”and they incessantly become mired in the input and not the output. (Instead of catching a squirrel, they concentrate on making sure their shoes are on with the proper laces.)

The worst of it, though, is that consultants are afraid to use their judgment, abjure the role of expert, and seek validation, justification, verification, and vindication—often by quoting some other expert or wasting time on nonsensical studies. If you don’t trust your own judgment, why should a client or prospect trust it?

We need to integrate our learning, streamline it, use it, and find comfort in it. If you keep quoting other sources, I’m going to hire the other sources.

Pretty soon, now, I expect Bentley will be running between the squirrel and the tree and start catching his prey, as it is in nature. Will you be able to close business, as it should be in your nature, or do you keep staring at your feet?

© Alan Weiss 2013

(The Dog Star is a symbol of power, will, and steadfastness of purpose, and exemplifies the One who has succeeded in bridging the lower and higher consciousness. – Astrological Definition)

Bentley has gained 13 pounds in the last month, or about a half pound a day. (For you folks in the UK, that’s almost a stone, less a few pebbles.) The vet says that’s normal and he looks great, then always says the same thing, almost to himself: “He’s going to be a big dog.”

He (Bentley, not the vet) will sit, give you paw, and lie down. He is also the first dog in our family’s history who fetches. I use one of his lacrosse balls, but Julie, our designer, uses sticks, and I notice from my window that Bentley isn’t meticulous about which stick he brings back. Apparently, sticks all look alike to Julie, which Bentley has figured out.

He now has all his shots and his license, so a trainer is next.

© Alan Weiss 2013