Chasing the Red Dot
Spunky, our miniature dachshund, is long gone. I wasn’t glad to see him go, but in his absence, I regained my status. When he arrived, he replaced me as king of the domain.
He was brown like lightly roasted coffee beans and just as alert. He guarded the queen of the house like secret service agents guard presidents. But there’s nothing secret about secret service agents. They’re so obvious. That’s how Spunky was. His smug authority put me in my place.
Spunky was bred to hunt but the only things he hunted were flies, bugs, mice that ran from under the wood pile, and red dots. He hated red dots like democrats hate republicans, maybe more.
I bought a laser pointer when I taught classes at one of the local colleges. The red dot was my revenge. It enflamed him. For a few moments I drove my antagonist crazy. Spunky saw the devil’s eye in the frantic dot on the floor. The only thing that excited him more was scraps of beef.
Spunky chased his antagonist around and under couches, beds, and tables. He persecuted the red dot back and forth in the hallway tirelessly. I laughed when he kept looking for the devil’s eye after I turned it off. Oh! the power. I’m smarter than a dog.
I thought of Spunky this morning when I wondered what I might post today. We love chasing red dots. Someone shows up with an issue and the hunt is on. The hair on our necks comes to attention. Fixing is in our blood.
Chasing other people’s red dots destroys you. Let people fix their own problems.
Before you chase the next red dot, ask, “Whose dot is this?” Never chase a red dot that belongs to someone else.
What’s seductive about solving other people’s problems?
How might you avoid the distraction of red dots?
When you solve other people’s problems it makes you feel good, valued, important, the most capable person in the room, etc. But it doesn’t help the person develop their problem solving/decision making skills. Not good!
Distraction of red dots—I always start with with this question: “Who own the problem?”
If I own it, I then ask–How important is this problem? How much time, effort and money am I willing to put into solving this problem?
Thanks Paul. “How important is this problem?” Don’t just jump at the first sight of a red dot. Know the difference between something urgent and something important. Or, if they are the same thing.
Dan,
This seems like a parallel to ‘teach a man to fish…”
Thanks Brian. Glad you took time to comment today. Anything that enables people to better take care of their own needs seems like a good thing.
Our dogs will often take over as king of the domain, and we still love them. Maybe they know some things about leadership we have yet to figure out.
Thanks Scott. One thing is they assume the role without being asked. Spunky guarded the property and his queen because he wanted to.
Great post, Dan! Brings to mind the concept of monkey ownership Ken Blanchard wrote about. Good stuff!
Just remember: “Not my circus, not my monkeys.” Helps avoid those red dots. Unless it really it your circus and your monkeys.
Thanks Jennifer. Good point. And I know from your previous comments you wouldn’t say that in an uncaring way.
Thanks Michael. Everyone needs to read, Management Time: Whose Got the Monkey by William Oncken Jr. and Donald L. Wass. It’s a classic HBR article.
Yes, it’s there problem. But I try to assist in solving the problem. If help is warranted.
Thanks Arie. “If help is warranted,” is key.
What strikes me is not red dots as an ownership issue, but red dots as an illusion. They’re not bits of beef, real issues or opportunities. Behind them are people with laser pointers yanking our metaphorical chains because—it’s fun! (There are people in authority who are like that. They are fortunately rare. They would be better if well done).
But do I think there are a lot of leaders that *unknowingly* wave laser pointers, in organizational cultures that are full of mirrors. And they’re frustrated that the dogs are tired all the time, and never even saw the bits of beef that are the organization’s purpose.
Thanks for taking this little story to new places. I enjoyed how you amplified and expanded this. Cheers.
This resonates with me. I asked someone why we broke out travel into numerous accounts (parking, car rental, taxis). The answer was that when we have 2,000 people we’ll need to see the detail to look for savings.
We have less than 30 people now.
Pretty sure those numerous accounts are red dots.
Thanks Elizabeth. Wonderful observations. The weight of something is determined by the context.
Oh boy! This sure spoke to me. First, I’m a sucker for a good dog story, but really, in my own pursuit of red dots I have to wonder who is pointing the laser, is it still even on, and what am I NOT doing while I’m off on a wild goose chase.
Powerful reflection, Bardohn. Thanks for stopping in.
I like it. Red dots are a bit like the great, mysterious “THEY”. You know the ones: “If we aren’t constantly vigilant, THEY will ruin our quality/spoil our reputation/cost us money”. When asked, “THEY” can’t be identified, localised or named. But they need keeping an eye on, whoever “THEY” are.
Thanks Mitch. “They” are a way to pressure conformity. Good to see you here.
Thanks for the reminder!
My pleasure, Clinette.
You stopped me in my tracks. I triggered a long-standing red dot that I’ve been chasing when I reached out to friend to check in on them and their partner. Need to offer supportive questions, not fixes. As discussed today, it’s important for people to understand, face and address their own issues. If they don’t do it, it will persist and we are not going to fix the problem.
Brilliant application, Karen. Helping that creates dependency doesn’t help. Helping that enables ownership and responsibility really helps.