Richard van Gaalen-THCL

15/09/2026

🐾 Molly wasn’t part of the plan.

If you saw my Shiloh post, you’ll remember that after years of Golden Retrievers, my wife wanted a smaller dog.

That was how Shiloh came into our lives.

So by the time Ruby, our 15-year-old Bichon, became unwell with cancer, my wife and I had already talked about what would happen next.

We were pretty clear.
Once Ruby was gone, we would just have Shiloh.
One smaller dog.
No more Golden Retrievers.
That was the plan.

Then one of our sons said to me:
“Dad, you know you want another Golden Retriever.”
My wife and I both said:
“No.”
Then he showed us a photo.

Molly.

Just over nine months old.
And needing to be rehomed.
Well...
That changed things.

There are times in life when you can be absolutely certain about the plan.
Right up until something — or someone — turns up that you weren’t expecting. Molly was one of those moments.

She came into our lives while Ruby was still with us, and suddenly our house had three dogs again.

Ruby.

Shiloh.

And this young Golden Retriever with plenty of energy and a whole lot of personality.

So much for the plan of having one smaller dog.

We didn’t know it then, but Molly would eventually become a big part of the walks that helped shape Walk the Dog.

But that part of the story can wait.
For now, this is simply how Molly arrived.

She wasn’t part of the plan.

Sometimes the best things aren’t. 🐾

13/09/2026

🐾 Shiloh was there before Walk the Dog had a name.

Shiloh is nearly 11 now.

She’s a retrodoodle — a Golden Retriever crossed with a Poodle.

We’d had Golden Retrievers for years, but my wife wanted a smaller dog.

Let’s just say… we can come back to how that worked out another day.

What matters for this story is that Shiloh has been part of my walks for a long time.

Long before I ever called it a reset.
Long before I talked about perspective.

And long before Walk the Dog became anything more than simply going for a walk.

Back then, that’s all it was.
I’d head out.
Shiloh would come with me.
Sometimes I’d think about work.
Sometimes I’d sort something out in my head.
Sometimes I’d think about absolutely nothing.

And sometimes Shiloh was probably far more interested in what was happening in the hedge or down the road than anything I was thinking about.

But I nearly always came back feeling better for having gone.

For most of my years in business, I worked largely on my own.

There wasn’t a team around me.
But Shiloh was often not too far away.

Sometimes on the road.
Sometimes at home.

And sometimes, as this photo shows, making herself very comfortable in the office.

There wasn’t a framework.
There wasn’t a big idea.
It was just part of life.

Only more recently have I started saying to my teammates:

“I’m going to walk the dog.”

They know what I mean.
I’m stepping away for a bit.
I need some space.
I’ll be back.

And when I look back now, Shiloh was there long before any of us were calling it anything.

No big lesson.
No clever strategy.

Just a dog, a road, an office floor, and a habit that became more important than I realised at the time.

I quite like that.

🐾 The idea came later. The habit came first.

09/09/2026

🐾 Day 8 — What are you missing because you're moving too fast?

Yesterday was a good reminder that things don't always go according to plan.

An unexpected frost changed the timing of the morning.

Adapt. Adjust. Keep moving.

But it got me thinking about something else.

How much do we miss simply because we're in a hurry?
From one meeting to the next.
One email to another.

One problem solved — and straight onto the next one.

We're often thinking about where we've just been while already worrying about where we need to be next.

But what about right now?
Walking has made me much more conscious of this.

When I slow down, I notice things.
A change in the weather.
Something different along the road.

Molly or Shiloh suddenly stopping because they've noticed something I've walked straight past.

And sometimes, I notice something in myself.
A frustration I'm carrying.
A conversation I need to have.
Something I've been avoiding.

Or an idea that's been sitting quietly in the background, waiting for a little space.

That's becoming another important part of Walk the Dog for me.

Observe.

Before rushing to respond, fix or change something...

Notice it first.

I think that's particularly important in leadership.

We can become so focused on doing that we stop noticing.

What's changing around us?
Who's gone unusually quiet?
What isn't being said?

What's working that we haven't acknowledged?

What opportunity are we walking straight past?

Sometimes the clues are already there.
We just haven't slowed down enough to notice them.

So that's my challenge today.

Slow down for a moment.
Look up.
Look around.
Listen.

And ask yourself:

🐾 What am I missing because I'm moving too fast?

08/09/2026

🐾 Day 7 — Be flexible enough to adapt.

Well, someone flicked the switch to Spring…

But apparently the weather didn't get the memo. ❄️

I looked across the paddock this morning and there it was.

Frost. And a decent one.

Not quite what I expected after the warmer weather we've started to enjoy.

But that's life, isn't it?
We make plans.
We set expectations.

We think we know what today, this week, the business — sometimes even life — is going to look like.

Then something changes.

Something unexpected happens and suddenly the plan doesn't quite fit the circumstances anymore.

That's when we have a choice.
We can fight the change.

Get frustrated because things aren't going according to plan.

Or we can adapt.

That's another lesson I'm finding in Walk the Dog.

Being adaptable doesn't mean you don't have a plan.

It means you're not so attached to the plan that you can't adjust when circumstances change.

Sometimes you need to slow down.

Change direction.
Wait a little longer.
Put another layer on.
Or simply accept:

This isn't quite what I expected today.

We can't control every unexpected frost that comes our way.

But we can control how we respond when it arrives.

So Molly, Shiloh and I will still get our walk this morning.

We'll just give the frost a little time to lift and the day a chance to warm up.

The walk hasn't changed.
The timing has.
And sometimes that's all adapting requires.

🐾 Keep the destination. Be flexible with the route.

08/09/2026

Regional Business Partner funding of up to 75% available for eligible businesses. Reach out to me, [email protected] , for more information.

Ready to build confidence and strengthen your sales approach?
Join Think Right for the practical 7 Fundamentals of Sales workshop in Levin.

This four-hour session is designed for anyone wanting to strengthen the fundamentals of their sales approach.

Participants will learn how to:
• understand what drives customer decisions
• make a strong first impression
• ask better questions to uncover customer needs
• communicate value more effectively
• handle objections with greater confidence
• identify cross-selling and upselling opportunities
• close sales more effectively

If you're looking to strengthen your sales skills and grow your business, this workshop is for you.

Tuesday, 6th October 2026
8:30am–12:30pm
The Horowhenua Company Ltd, 8 Bath Street, Levin

The workshop is $400 + GST, with Regional Business Partner funding of up to 75% available for eligible businesses. Reach out to THCL’s Richard van Gaalen, [email protected] , for more information.
More information is also available here: https://www.thinkright.co.nz/7-fundamentals-public

06/09/2026

🐾Sometimes the walk is enough.

It’s absolutely pouring down this morning.

Molly and Shiloh don't seem particularly concerned about that.

And perhaps there's something in that.

I've got a busy day ahead with quite a few meetings, plenty to think about and no doubt a few things that will need my attention along the way.

But before all of that...
There's the walk.

Over the past week, I've talked a lot about what I get from walking.

Perspective.
Clarity.
A chance to reset.
Space to respond rather than react.

But there's another reason I walk.
It's simply good for me.

My morning walks with Molly and Shiloh have become an important part of my day.

And when I step out of the office for my afternoon “Walk the Dog” — even though the dogs are actually at home — there are days when I'm not trying to solve anything.

I don't need a breakthrough.
I don't need another idea.
I don't need to come back with an action plan.
Sometimes I just need the walk.

Fresh air.
Movement.
A change of scenery.
A bit of space from the noise.

And I've come to recognise how important that is for my own mental wellbeing.

We can spend so much time focused on what needs doing next that we forget to look after the person doing it.

And that's part of Everyday Leadership too.

Leading yourself isn't always about pushing yourself.

Sometimes it's recognising what you need to be at your best for the people you're about to meet, work with or lead.

Today, apparently, that means getting a little wet. 🌧️

Because the conditions don't always have to be perfect for something to be good for you.

Some walks give me answers.
Some give me perspective.
Some give me ideas.
And some simply make me feel better.
They all count.

🐾 Not every walk needs an outcome.

Sometimes the walk is enough.

03/09/2026

🐾 What are you carrying into the weekend?
It's Friday. Managed to sneak a walk in before the weather turned rubbish.
Another working week nearly done.
Some things went well.
Some probably didn't.
There may be an unfinished job.
A conversation you're still replaying.
A decision you haven't made.
Or something that simply didn't go the way you wanted.
One thing I'm learning through Walk the Dog is that we don't have to carry everything with us.
Sometimes you need to recognise:
I've done what I can with that for today.

So here's a little Friday Walk the Dog challenge.
Before you finish the week, take 10 minutes.
Get outside.

Leave the phone behind — or at least put it on silent.
Walk.
Don't try to solve anything.
Just ask yourself:
What do I need to leave behind this week?
Then put it down.
Monday will come.
You can pick up what genuinely needs picking up then.

But your weekend doesn't need to carry everything your working week did.
🐾 Don't just finish the week. Put it down.

02/09/2026

🐾 Not every situation needs an immediate response.

I've learned this one the hard way.

Something happens.

An email lands badly.

A conversation doesn't go the way you expected.

Someone says something that frustrates you.

And everything in you wants to respond.

Right now.

But right now isn't always the best time.

One of the things walking has taught me is the value of creating a little space between what happens and what I do next.

Sometimes that's literally a walk.

Sometimes it's just a few minutes.

Sometimes it's simply deciding:

I'm not going to react to this yet.

Because a considered response is nearly always better than an impulsive reaction.

That's one of the ideas sitting at the heart of Walk the Dog.

It's not about avoiding the situation.

It's not about pretending something didn't happen.

And it's certainly not about walking away from responsibility.

It's about giving yourself enough space to come back and deal with it well.

I've started thinking about that space as an internal reset.

A chance to settle the emotion.

Clear some of the noise.

Get some perspective.

And decide how I want to respond — rather than allowing the situation to decide for me.

Because leadership isn't only about what happens around us.

A lot of the time, it's about what happens next inside us.

🐾 Step away. Reset. Respond.

01/09/2026

🐾Here’s the funny thing about Walk the Dog.

Sometimes…

there’s no dog.

Molly and Shiloh are at home.

Yesterday I shared how Walk the Dog grew from those early morning walks with them.

But somewhere along the way, “walk the dog” became something else.

It became a phrase I started using at work.

“I’m going to walk the dog.”

My teammates now know what I mean.

I'm stepping away.

Maybe I've been sitting too long.

Maybe my head is full.

Maybe something hasn't gone quite right.

Maybe I need to think before I respond.

Or maybe I simply need some fresh air and movement.

So I get up.

I walk.

I create some space between myself and whatever is in front of me.

And often, something changes.

The situation hasn't changed.

But I have.

I come back clearer.
Calmer.
With a little more perspective.

Sometimes with an answer.

Sometimes with a better question.

And sometimes I don't need either.

I just feel better.

That's become an important part of Walk the Dog for me too.

It's not always about solving a problem or making a decision.

Getting outside, moving and creating some space is simply good for my wellbeing.

Sometimes the walk is productive.

Sometimes the walk is enough.

That's what Walk the Dog means to me.

Recognising when it's time to step away before you step back in.

And the best part?

🐾 You don't need a dog to Walk the Dog.

31/08/2026

🐕 I’ve been walking the dog for years.

Turns out, I was doing more than walking the dog.

I was learning to lead.

Yesterday I said this started with a simple morning walk.

Two dogs.
A quiet road.
And an idea that grew one step at a time.

This is that idea.

Somewhere between the front gate and the road ahead, something happens.

The noise gets quieter.
The thinking gets clearer.
Problems find perspective.
Reactions become responses.

And sometimes the answer you've been chasing simply appears.

It became such a part of my day that eventually I started saying at work:

“I’m going to walk the dog.”

My team knew exactly what I meant.

I needed to step away.

Not quit.
Not avoid the issue.
Not escape.

RESET.

Then come back and deal with what was in front of me.

That simple habit has grown into something I’m incredibly excited to finally share.

# WALK THE DOG

A practical approach to Everyday Leadership built around a simple belief:

Before you lead the meeting.
Before you lead the team.
Before you lead the business.
You have to lead yourself.**

And sometimes…

you just need to walk the dog.

Over the coming weeks, I'm going to unpack what that means — the stories, the lessons and some practical ideas that have grown out of those walks.

And I'll introduce you to a couple of very unlikely leadership coaches called Molly and Shiloh. 🐕🐕

This started on a quiet rural road.

"Let's see where it goes."

🐾 Come for the walk.