In what you might call my third career — my 25-plus years as a professor of the practice of management at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business — I’m asked often about inspiring role models who helped to shape my personal values. Of course, there were many, from Nelson Mandela, the great statesman who led my native South Africa to democracy, to my mentors and colleagues at the multibillion-dollar businesses I helped to run, like Lever Brothers Foods Division, Seagram USA and Tropicana.
But the iconic figure whose lessons carried the most personal meaning for me was a four-legged companion by the name of Maisie.
Maisie came to my wife Laura and me from Guiding Eyes for the Blind, which trains dogs to serve as companions for people with visual impairment. At 18 months, she had “failed” her final test, thus becoming a “release dog” available for adoption.
It soon became apparent why Maisie had failed. She was just too eager to please, energetic and curious. Left in charge of a sightless person, she might have led them into all kinds of playful but inadvisable adventures. As a therapy dog, she wasn’t a natural fit, but for my wife and me, Maisie was the perfect companion.
From then on, Maisie and I walked the path of life together. We developed a growing bond built on time spent in my home office, daily walks in the park, playing chase and traveling. We were seldom apart, and we learned to understand each other’s moods, needs and expectations. This human-canine relationship revealed to me some of my most important lessons about life.
