How big is your dog?

How big is your dog?

I was at a conference for young adults which was held in a ranch in the middle of the forest up in the mountains an hour away from Mexico City. It was freezing cold, I remember. But what I will never forget is the lesson I learned there about business and life.  The presenter, a man in his forties, told a story of his childhood. He was playing with a ball until he kicked it so hard that it flew to the neighbor’s yard. He spent a long time trying to jump the wall that separated both yards. When he got to the other side he got the ball, he kicked it back to his house and prepared to the difficult task of climbing the wall one more time. It was then when he realized there was a huge dog staring at him. The dog started running towards him and, without thinking, he ran towards the wall and climbed it ‘’Spiderman style’’. He had no idea how he did it, he only knew that an enormous dog was chasing him so he was able to do something amazing in order to survive. The presenter then asked us: what makes you wake up in the morning? What makes you work every day? What makes you do amazing things in your life? How big is your dog?

That dog is the motivation that makes you excel in what you do. Jan Newman talks about it in the video ‘’Risk in Business’’ (http://vimeo.com/27917536) when he talks about having ‘’skin in the game’’ and how his partner asked him to ask for a loan and invest in his business so he could have ‘’skin in the game’’. That risk motivated him to work harder and to reach success later on.

Integrity is the best policy. I learned this week that you cannot be a leader without integrity. Nobody wants to follow somebody who does not have integrity. I remember a picture I saw at the offices of Schneider Electric in Mexico City with a picture of the company's president and the question ''would you trust me if I were dishonest in my words and actions'' or something like that. When you have integrity you avoid problems, you feel good with yourself and you can look at others in their eyes.