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Firstly, a quick plug. Alongside my consulting work, I'm working to grow the executive and leadership coaching side of my business. I offer a range of packages that help my clients to explore new ideas, to overcome challenges and to enjoy personal and professional growth. Find out more about how coaching could help you. There's a 20% discount for Sockmonthly subscribers.
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As you probably already know, I'm the proud owner of two working Labrador dogs. If you've ever been on a Teams or Zoom call with me, you'll probably have seen them. And you'll almost certainly have heard them.
Molly, the orange one, is twelve now and spends most of her time asleep on a cushion in some sunny spot around the house. Ozzy, the black one, has just turned four. She's always been a bit of a livewire and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
The 'working' bit in 'working Labrador' means that Ozzy needs something to do. She needs a job. Consequently, much of my time is spent finding ways to keep her busy. Otherwise she finds her own ways to keep busy, which rarely works out well. (Like the time she ate the armrest in the back of my wife's Mercedes.)
Here's Ozzy, by the way. On one of our days out on the Mendip Hills.
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As a keen runner, I've always enjoyed running with the dogs. I used to run with Molly, before she 'retired' from more intense forms of physical exercise. And I now run several times a week with Ozzy.
In fact, we've recently taken up the sport of cani-cross, which is where we run cross-country with Ozzy attached to me via a bungee-style lead. A bit like water skiiing, but without the boat, the water or the skis.
(If you're thinking that this sounds like a highly dangerous and monumentally stupid idea, then I'd struggle to put forward an effective counterargument. Meanwhile, if you're thinking that it sounds like awesome fun, I'd likewise be compelled to agree. You can find out more about it here.)
I like spending time with Ozzy out in the fresh air. And the running is good for both of us. But the best thing is that it makes us work together as a team. (The moment we stop working as a team, someone - usually me - tends to get wrapped around a tree.)
Anyway, as our ability to work together has improved, I've slowly been ramping up our training. We've been doing short, focused sessions. We've been doing technical sessions on hills. We've been doing easy runs. And we've been doing long, slow runs.
But at the same time, I'm trying hard not to get carried away. Which is a challenge for me, because I'm a pretty competitive person. I like to push myself. And I like to see how far and how fast I can run.
And so Ozzy and I take time when we're out running to stop and play ball (Ozzy's all-time favourite pastime), to swim in the streams and ponds we come across (second-favourite pastime), to explore new paths and woodlands, and to chat with the other people and dogs we encounter.
Because, ultimately, it's not about how far or how fast we can run. It's about the bigger picture of us being outside and working together. It's about us exploring our local area together. And it's about giving Ozzy the stimulation and the exercise that she needs to live a healthy and happy life.
Clearly, this need to focus on the bigger picture isn't just about running with Labradors.
We all have 'big picture' goals and objectives in many aspects of our personal and professional lives. And we also have numerous distractions - emails, requests from colleagues, interesting articles to read, easy tasks that make us feel good that we've accomplished something - trying to divert us from them.
Losing sight of the big picture is a sure-fire way to disappear down the rabbit hole of these distractions, at the expense of what it was that we actually wanted to achieve.
We call it the big picture not because it's big, but because it's important. And we must keep it firmly in mind in everything that we do. If not for our Labradors, then for ourselves.
Stay focused,
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Simon Perks
Director, Sockmonkey Consulting
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