I listened to one of my all-time favorite Pink Floyd tunes a couple weeks ago – “Dogs” off the album Animals.  It is a rather grim portrayal of corporate America with some blistering lyrics that I just had to excerpt for a quick post (it’s about a 15 minute opus so just a teaser here):

“And after a while.

You can work on points for style.

The club tie.  Firm Handshake.

Sudden look in the eye and the easy smile.

You have to be trusted.

By the people that you lie to.

So that when they turn their backs on you.

You’ll get the chance to put the knife in.”

The entire song is amazing – very good story through the lyrics and David Gilmour’s guitar work is legendary.  Listening to it again made me consider my story and some of the people I’ve met over the years.  Like Holden Caulfield, I hate phonies.  Keep it real or keep it moving…. So many people seem caught up in the act, always seeking some edge, some power over the next guy. Although I have certainly worked on some of those style points in various corporate and societal roles, I have never done it for some devious end game strategy. I come with no agenda, hidden or otherwise.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Dogs (a.k.a. snakes) in this world always looking out for number one, trying to get ahead by bringing others down. The goal for me is to figure out those clowns early on – before they burn you. Or at least before they put that knife in…. If you can outlast ’em the good news is most Dogs are insecure at their core and usually end up like the character in the song – “just another sad old man. all alone and dying of cancer.”

END