The Inkwell

Ok. So you might ask what a 15-pound pug has to do with smart thINKing? When I started this blog, I really wanted to identify and promote ideas that link thinking to three words: smart, clever and strategic.

And it dawned on me recently, I was being had by my dog…

Bella, my pug, was displaying “smart thINKing” right under my nose. Recently, she unraveled this neat-o new “trick” where the moment she hears me reach for her leash, she leaps from her comfy resting spot on the couch and beelines it under my bed – of course, out of my reach. Is it because she does not have to use the “facilities”? Or, perhaps, because she has agoraphobia (fear of open spaces/the outdoors)?

No. It’s because Bella has figured out that in order for me to get her out from under the bed, I have to either spelunk my way to her or offer her her favorite form of canine crack – turkey pepperoni. About 99% of the time, that dog covets her turkey pepperoni (and I swear, she smirks at me while savoring every last bite.) And then, we head outside.

So, what’s the moral of this smart thINKing anecdote? If you want your target audience to do what you want them to do, figure out a clever way to get them to meet you half way, and then do what works for them. And it doesn’t help to be awfully damn cute in the process.