Do you treat the people around you like dogs?

Don’t think Michael Vick.  Think of the old lady down the street with 3-4 yapping admirers nipping at her heels.

Marshall Goldsmith, in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,  says that most of us have two contradictory tendencies:  1)  We say we hate suck-ups.  2) We tend to reward people who suck-up to us most skillfully.  We love the family dog who is always glad to see us and fawns at our feet, and we reward people around us who tell us how much they admire us.

The problem, of course, is that we can’t get good feedback about where we need to change if we listen only to our admirers.

Proverbs 27:6 says:  “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”