“Consensus: The process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values, and policies in search of something in which no one believes, but to which no one objects; the process of avoiding the very issues that have to be solved, merely because you cannot get agreement on the way ahead. What great cause would have been fought and won under the banner: ‘I stand for consensus’?” –Margaret Thatcher
Often in my day job I’ll hear someone say to me “If everyone else is ok with this then I’m ok with this. But check with the others first.” I’m sure you have heard some variation of that in your job or even in animal rescue and for me it’s one of the most frustrating comments that someone can make. Why should an opinion depend on what everyone else thinks? Isn’t the very definition of opinion your own perspective?
Think back to that time that you joined the animal rescue movement. Think back to that time when you first volunteered at a local animal shelter or signed up to be a rescue relay transport driver or maybe a foster home. For many of you, this was your first foray into animal rescue and that volunteering fueled your passion and from there something sparked you to then form your own organization to help change the world for animals. You had a fire in your belly and bold ideas that would change the world. You likely shared with friends, family and soon with other animal rescuers how your creative ingenuity would revolutionize things and how brilliant everyone would see that you were all along.
But just for a moment, I want to you go back to when your passion ignited your drive and fueled your soul. Back to when your radical ideas got you pumped up to start your day and made it hard to go to sleep when you lay down at night. Bring THAT person back and let’s revisit those zany, crazy ideas that people said would never work or those programs that never got the backing of your board so never went anywhere.
At Doobert my passion is helping you fill YOUR passion for animal rescue. It may surprise you but the best enhancements that I have made to the Doobert system over the years have come from the minds of people that had the courage to say “what if we did ____? That might help to make things more efficient and to help save more animals.” Many volunteers are afraid they will offend me by suggesting things but nothing could be further from the truth. I WANT your criticism and feedback, I NEED your complaints, suggestions and ideas. It’s how I fuel MY passion to bring the system that powers yours.
