People and dogs are different in "oh so many ways" but there are still things we can learn from the so-called lesser creatures.  I really started to think about this after listening to Steve Morris talk about the rationale for creating Exit Realty.  Mr. Morris positioned that people inevitably need to be convinced first of their own self-interest before deciding to take an action that benefits the group.  Once convinced, of course, they would invariably act in that common self-interest-- but not until.  Because self-interest was the overriding concern, knowledge often was withheld by those with it from those that could most certainly gain from it-- because the self-interest of the knowledge-holder wasn't necessarily aligned with the need of the knowledge-seeker.  Sharing wouldn't happen until the knowledgeable saw some benefit to themselves in sharing.

How different from how animals farther down the evolutionary scale behave.  Dogs don't have opposable thumbs-- biologists will say they are, by definition, less-evolved than humans.  But dogs invariably act first, seemingly without concern for their individual self-interest-- and in doing so somehow assure that their self-interest will be met.  The interests of the pack, and things that assure its survival, align well with the interests of each pack member.  Sharing knowledge, therefore, becomes automatic and natural.  Does the pack know something we humans either don't know or have somehow forgotten throughout our evolution?

This thought came to me at the point in the lecture where Mr. Morris was discussing the sharing of institutional knowledge and the knowledge necessary for passing on sales skills important to the survival of a brokerage.  Until the top producers have some vested interest the exchange of knowledge will benefit themselves individually, they just aren't motivated to share with the group.  In the typical brokerage, there is no "pack" to provide for the safety and well-being of the others-- there's only a collection of individual agents loosely aligned but still trying to outperform everyone else around them.  Pack strength and pack mentality never supersedes the focus on individual needs and performances.

When I brought the new dog home and started paying attention to him [the 'transition dog' for those of you that understand it's better to introduce the newbie to the household before the old dog fades away] the first thing the older dog did was walk the young buck around the house and yard: "This is where we get water.  This is where we get food.  This is where we squat.  This is how we get a cookie from Mrs. H. every afternoon.  This is where we can lay down and rest.  This is where we get yelled at if we try and lay here."  The old dog instinctively trained and educated the younger dog on how things worked, how to be successful here, and what NOT to do.  The old dog made sure the household would function in a rhythm and with a somewhat predictable flow-- even if the old dog someday wasn't there.  The ways of the pack were passed on and the skills necessary to keep the pack going were transferred without thinking about competition or self-interest. 

What highly evolved society made that behavior the cultural norm-- and how do I get that to happen in my world?

Chris Hendricks