{"id":13054,"date":"2026-04-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/lessons-from-snoopy\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T14:09:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T14:09:50","slug":"lessons-from-snoopy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scotwork.com\/nz\/blog-nz\/2026\/lessons-from-snoopy","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Snoopy"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

We welcomed a new dog into our home last week, a three-year-old, completely untrained bundle of energy. He\u2019s cute, but a little feral.<\/p>\n

He came from a farm where he\u2019d spent most of his life chained in a yard. His previous owner meant well, but didn\u2019t have the time to properly train or socialise him.<\/p>\n

Over the Easter break, I\u2019ve been working with him. In just a few days, he\u2019s become house-trained and can follow basic commands indoors: come, sit, down, heel, fetch. Outside, he\u2019s still easily distracted, so there\u2019s more work to do.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s when it clicked: he\u2019s not so different from many of the negotiators we encounter.<\/p>\n

People develop professionally in the environments they\u2019re placed in. They pick up enough skills to get by, and sometimes even to succeed, but too often, no one invests the time or effort to help them reach their full potential.<\/p>\n

Organisations say they want better performance, yet many are unwilling to invest the time or money required to develop their people. What a waste.<\/p>\n

It reminds me of Snoopy\u2019s situation, left to get by as best he could.<\/p>\n

Over the years, I\u2019ve heard managers say, \u201cThey\u2019re not worth investing in, we\u2019ll just replace them with someone better.\u201d Ironically, those same organisations often spend more recruiting replacements who may, or may not, deliver, while losing valuable experience and institutional knowledge in the process.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve spent much of my career working with organisations that do invest in their people, not for the \u201cwarm fuzzies,\u201d but because it\u2019s both the right thing to do and the smart thing to do. The return on that investment consistently outweighs the cost, by many multiples.<\/p>\n

Negotiation is a skill like any other. It can be taught, learned, and strengthened. To excel, negotiators need structure, discipline, and practice. Repetition builds consistency; reinforcement builds confidence, and both drive results.<\/p>\n

It requires a disciplined approach: learn the process, understand the skills, and apply them consistently. But the best negotiators aren\u2019t rigid, they know when and how to adapt, responding effectively to changing circumstances in the moment.<\/p>\n

As I write this, the now not so feral farm dog is lying relaxed at my feet, keen, engaged, and eager to learn.<\/p>\n

Most people are no different.<\/p>\n

With the right investment, structure, and support, they will rise to the level expected of them, and often beyond it.<\/p>\n

If you believe your people are capable of more with the right development, let\u2019s talk.<\/p>\n

E: Info@scotwork.co.nz<\/a><\/p>\n

P: 021398644<\/p>\n<\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We welcomed a new dog into our home last week, a three-year-old, completely untrained bundle of energy. He\u2019s cute, but a little feral. He came from a farm where he\u2019d spent most of his life chained in a yard. His previous owner meant well, but didn\u2019t have the time to properly train or socialise him….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":13055,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_legacy_url":"blog-nz\/2026\/lessons-from-snoopy","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLessons from Snoopy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"World leaders in business negotiation training and consultancy with experts across 120 countries, with negotiation courses taught in 29 languages.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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