I got letters thanking me for yesterday's post on the importance of working together. That was sweet! Thanks! I think I sent each of you a private thank you, too, but I just wanted to say it again. (And Wolfy, you did not do that other thing, you silly :-)!) Here's a post on something related: Perhaps the single best action anyone can take to get cooperative actions, to continue cooperative actions, and to set the stage for working together is to APPRECIATE THE WORK OF OTHERS TOWARD THE SAME GOAL AND TO TO SAY SO. They might not go about the job the same way you would but if you look at what they achieved then if they made progress that is good. Plain and simple: it is GOOD! Besides, if they aren't going about the job the same way then they aren't duplicating you. In some situations (such as changing existing documents) there needs to be someone who spearheads a project, and if someone has already made large in-roads then that is the right group or person to take point or continue to take point while everyone else does other vastly important jobs. In other situations (such as supporting existing proposals as they stand) it can be every bit as effective for the groups to work separately as long as they do not undo the work of the others or introduce confusion. That means a halt to in-fighting and when possible even some constructive cooperative discussions. RESPECT EACH OTHER, RESPECT EACH OTHER, RESPECT EACH OTHER. SAY THANK YOU, SAY THANK YOU, SAY THANK YOU. Nothing is quite a powerful as those two actions: giving respect and saying "Thank you". Folks figure out Glory Hounds and as a result they have trouble in the future working with others which is not conducive to progress, so make up, bury the hatchets, work together, then thank each other publicly because doing that in a timely fashion is the way to actually succeed in getting your mutual goal achieved, AND it is ALSO the way to set the stage for future work which will help ferrets. I can NOT think of ANY large project in the almost 22 years we've spent with ferrets which involved only one group. NOT ONE! ALL of the big ones: getting rabies vaccines which worked in ferrets, getting changes to the Compendium, getting ferrets legalized in a large numbers of states and cities, getting work continued on the latest CDV vaccine, shutting down anti-ferret moves, getting symposia and conferences to work, and many, many more happened because there was a shared goal and folks didn't waste time running down others but instead concentrated on achieving a mutual goal. All of the ones where people then later worked together on further projects involved the sharing both publicly and privately of great mutual respect and of thanks. Saying thank you and respecting others are as powerful as anything ever gets. Those past successes include when people had different (but constructive) ways of going about it. On changing the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control Troy Lynn and I had vastly different ideas, but we each always knew the other wanted the right end result, knew the other would not do anything stupid like undermining the needed political connections with temper, knew the other would not do anything stupid like Glory Hounding, knew the other would not do anything stupid like rumor mongering, and so on. WE RESPECTED EACH OTHER AND STILL DO, AND THE WAY TO GET RESPECT IS TO GIVE RESPECT. SOMEONE HAS TO START THAT BALL ROLLING WITH ANY PROJECT AND IT MAY AS WELL BE YOU IN YOUR'S (no matter who you are). It's an honorable, fair, constructive, and effective thing to do. We each knew the other honored the shared goal and that even though we worked separately we each did good work toward a shared goal as did Dick Bossart, Marshall Farms (of all of the farms they were the only ones working on that project which ultimately saved so very, very many ferret lives), the CDC, Bill Gruber, Mike Janke, Alicia, the AFA, and so very, very many others (You know I always will appreciate all you did on that score even if I had to leave off names to avoid taking up the entire FML.). Each did their bit and each bit we each did was important. It saved so very many ferrets and it helped remove a lot of anti-ferret legislation and regulations. What was the result? It was not only success (and it truly was an excellent success), but we all still work together all the time, or are ready to work together when possible. I think of that so very, very often. Troy Lynn and I work together daily to this day in two other things. We differed on a very essential point but we respected that the difference came from the best of intentions and worked together (and she is the soul of patience to put up with me). Just the other week I again shared a piece of info from Dick which he'd given me permission to share at my discretion so that the person can improve some ferret regulations. Ditto something of Freddie Hoffman's with a similar provision which will vastly (and that is no exaggeration) help the ferret people there. They did something important which helps ferrets year after year, just like the FML does, and Mike's website does, and Pam's website does, and the IFC does, and so many, many constructive actions by so many good ferret people do. SHARE THE WORK, SHARE THE CREDIT, EXTEND THANK YOUS AND RESPECT -- PUBLICLY AS WELL AS PRIVATELY. The end result will be not only success but the chance to have further successes together. It has been done, it is currently being done elsewhere, it can be done again. So, let's all do it! [Posted in FML issue 4425]