Fast Company Article--Ilene Sorensen "The Consulting Cat is Out of the Bag," by Lisa Chadderdon--February 1999,page 48.

The title of this article caught my eye. Yes, I like cats and found the article amusing and meaningful. I have three quotes from the article.

1--Solveig Pflueger, chair of the genetics committee of the International Cat Association, based in Harlingen, Texas, stated, "Given the right motivation cats will virtually herd themselves--like to a can of tuna."

2--Grenther Gebel-Williams, the lead animal trainer and a star performer in Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus for more than 20 years says, "You can get a group of tigers to behave in unison and you work with each tiger in it's area of strength and then you positively reinforce those strengths. The end result is a unified act."

3--The next quote is Nicholas Dodman, director of the Animal Behavior Clinic at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine says, "You don't really want your employees to herd because herding suggests a mindless clinging together."

I think Pflugers comment on the cats and the tuna can is very true. People are like this, too. If you put something in front of people that they want(possibly not need) and they are like cats on a tuna can. There are people who do not care if others get in the way. They will just go for it--and so do cats.

I think about extension with Gunther Gebel-Williams quote. I feel extension works in teams. To work well on a team we must build on each other's strengths to get the task completed. Once the task is completed it is usually a class act only because we have worked together toward a common goal."

Nicholas Dodman talkds about herding cats or people. Sometimes, I feel this would be difficult to find each others strengths and how to be an individual. The Nutrition Education Assistants might react like a bunch of cats. When we want something done, we will work until the job gets completed like we want.

A fellow NEA and I decided that in extension we feel we are all individuals and do things different--but collectively we pull all of these strengths together to produce a fine program. (like cats on tuna)

-- Anonymous, December 29, 1999