Why did my mentor tell me I needed to kill some puppies?

Originally published 20 June 2013

So, I’m sitting over dinner discussing the challenges of work and life with my mentor and he pauses, looks me in the eye and says ‘Sacha, you need to kill some puppies.’

Now, like many of you reading this, I am a dog lover. I was brought up with a litter of Labrador puppies at home. Killing puppies is really not me.

So I asked him what he meant. He sat back in his chair and related how he’d noticed that some of the best CEOs he’d worked with always seemed to have time – to take a call, to pay attention. That they can do this because they’re working on the business not in the business.

They are clear on what’s important, what isn’t and how they can most valuably invest their time to make a difference.

Then he said ‘With you I notice you’re great at saying no to things you don’t want to do; it’s that you say yes to projects and opportunities that look at you with big brown eyes, all appealing like a puppy, saying do me, do me. And because you’re interested and curious you do them. You need to kill some puppies’.

He’s right isn’t he? Saying no to things we don’t want to do is the easy bit, saying no to interesting projects where we just know we can make a difference – well that’s a different story.