My German Shepherd, Memphis, and Sustaining What We Learn


July 31, 2012




On mornings when I work out, she heads for the elliptical machine, waiting patiently until I'm finished. Then she gets her ring toy. I toss it; she brings it back. We've both learned and share our drills; they're consistent and routine—our habits.


The classes and reading were critical, but just the first step. What's really mattered in the long term is that I consistently applied the few standards I learned so they became familiar to her and habitual for me.

As an example, when I want Memphis to come with me, I've learned to use a particular tone of voice and a few guttural clicks. It's an auditory pattern that only means one thing and Memphis now knows what I expect when she hears it.

When we first started, I had to offer a lot of encouragement, stopping frequently to pet her when she followed me. Sometimes I gave her a treat. But those rewards aren't needed anymore because Memphis has learned the expected behavior.

Memphis now has expectations as to when I'll get up and what I'll do. And her participation in our habits has helped make me more effective in the mornings and increase my workouts.

Of course, teaching humans isn't usually as straightforward as teaching dogs. But the goals are the same. As I recently wrote, we've got to remember and apply what we're taught; otherwise the learning is temporary and ultimately pointless.


The process starts with identifying a few clear behaviors that you want to become routine ways of "doing business." To turn the desired behavior into a habit, leaders at all levels must communicate specific standards in a consistent way and hold themselves and their team members responsible for meeting them.

It's a low-tech solution and harder than it sounds. But it works.

In the great workplaces where I have been, I've seen powerful rituals sustained over decades. In one great organization known around the globe, it's understood you don't bring in the competitor's products.

In another, you start every meeting with a safety talk. In another, you don't tell or circulate racial, sexual or similar jokes [that's my own workplace, I'm proud to say].



As for Memphis and me, we both are in charge of our rituals. That's why they stick.