Cats and Dogs

The Internet is replete with websites explaining the difference between cats and dogs. Trust me, or Google it sometime. It is an interesting topic that has evolved into a broader societal comparison regarding people who are "dog people" or "cat people."

Discover Magazine returned to the topic in December 2021 with The Truth about Cat People and Dog People. It is perhaps one of the few remaining categorizations with which society remains comfortable denigrating groups based on personal preferences or paths.

The truth is that people are different

I have spoken at a fair number of conferences and seminars over the years. All told, including my efforts as a college instructor, I have delivered over 2,000 presentations over many years. As a member of a panel or solo, I have spoken to business owners, risk managers, human resource managers, claims adjusters, attorneys, doctors, nurses, brokers, consultants, safety professionals, and more. This has included audiences and conferences of various sizes, and at conferences large and small.

In the course of this, I have spoken at many of the premier workers' compensation events including the Workers' Compensation Institute, the National Disability Conference, the CompLaude program, the Florida Bar and Workers Compensation Claims Professionals Forum, The NCCI Issues Symposium, WCRI Issues and Research Conference, the American Association of Orthopedic Surgeons Workers' Compensation program, and a host of acronymic and state-specific programs across America.

Through those experiences, I have met a vast assortment of brilliant, motivated, inspired, and incredible people. I have also met a few who aspire to such adjectives and who may yet progress there with time. It has been an intriguing journey, and all of those people have contributed to my education, experience, and perspective.

Returning to the cats and dogs. We do not like to categorize people. We struggle against illusory superiority, assumptions, prejudices, and attributes associated with various groups. There are at least perceptions of pigeonholing, typecasting, and worse. Of course, it is still somehow acceptable in various circles to denigrate various professions and occupations with broad oversimplifications and insults.

The trend has largely passed, but it was once hip to make sport of attorneys. There are always those who find humor in physicians. There is something similar about accountants, engineers, dads, and blondes, and, in my youth, the denigration of various nationalities was in vogue. Now, somehow, we have reached an inflection point and are no longer able or willing to categorize.

There is an old lawyer joke about white mice, a laboratory, and lawyers. I have heard it told many times, in many ways. One of the punchlines about why labs use lawyers instead of mice is that "The medical researchers don’t become as emotionally attached to the attorneys." That is harsh, but it usually elicits a laugh. We like to make humor at the expense of others, and that has gotten a few into difficulties over the years.

The foundation of all of these constellations is the tendency to entertain predispositions and to stereotype large swaths of individuals based on some commonality that we are willing to label them with. That process of categorizing is both a human defense process and a convenience. Our predispositions make our day-to-day easier. We can judge the ___________ without too much analysis, thought, or introspection.

This human trend toward predisposition reliance has been studied, though not nearly exhaustively. It is a periodic topic at educational events, where speakers and panels strive to scratch the surface on the vast spectrum of potential predispositions and the myriad of potential impacts on our lives, personal and professional.

My exposures to these topics led me recently down a rabbit hole, and into an eye-opening journey. It was no Through the Looking Glass, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1872, but it was an eye-opener nonetheless. I expected to define the predispositions to which we are all amenable and to strive to explore how some subset of them might impact the world of workers' compensation.

Despite years of contemplating some of these predispositions and a wealth of workers' compensation exposures, I was unprepared for the result. In the end, I found a far broader population of predispositions than expected. Obviously, my bias toward them was ill-conceived or underdeveloped.

In the end, I was able to accept that each of these could potentially impact the investigation, provision, claiming, negotiating, mediating, and adjudicating of workers' compensation benefits. The recognized predispositions can be categorized, compared, and differentiated. Nonetheless, each could impact perceptions, expressions, reactions, and more.

The result? I find myself now back in the armchair in Paradise. I reflect on the hours spent in study and contemplation and wonder at the experience. Unlike Alice, I am under no disillusion of reality. But I nonetheless reflect continuously on the journey.

The product of my journey is now available for free download. I encourage all who dip their toes in the world of workers' compensation to review and digest Unseen Influence: Unconscious Predisposition in Dispute Resolution (Langham, 2025).

It is not a short read, but the price is right (free), and the reader might benefit from my perspective and analysis or from their own contemplation or conclusions as to where I missed the boat. 

In an effort to illuminate the topic further, I will be moderating an intriguing panel at the 2025 WCI. Come join us for some thoughts on predisposition, bias, and how it both enables and constrains our daily lives, personal and professional. 

The Perils of Misperception: Separating Objective Facts from Subject Emotion to Achieve Objectivity, Accuracy, and Better Outcomes
August 19, 2025
9:55 AM – 10:55 AM
Grand Ballroom 8A

Come join us for a brief foray through the looking glass!

Pride and Performance

There was a time I worked in retail. That is a tough profession and has only become more so in recent decades as social media, the internet, the big-box, and more have relentlessly pursued the little mom-and-pop on the corner. Nonetheless, it was in the mom-and-pop that I did my time. I learned a great deal there, good and bad.

The world of retail is challenging. The fellow I worked for had grown up in the retail business. He was a clerk during and after high school and progressed through management and partnership to eventually sole ownership with his spouse. He had taken no shortcuts to the pinnacle on which he perched. He was successful but not the least bit pretentious. Well, he was mighty proud of his Cadillac. 

I recall several aspects of that store and its ownership.

First, it was a family affair. The husband ran the store and was there daily. His wife kept the books for the store, which included the normal bank balancing and bill paying. But she also kept "accounts," as the store offered credit to its regular customers. Many items left the store each day "on account" or "on approval." 

Such purchases were noted on paper cards and kept in an alphabetical index box. Goods could be returned, and the purchase entry merely lined through to reflect it (erasers were never used). People came in periodically and wanted to "pay my bill." Those who did not do so received a bill at the end of the month—typed on a typewriter and sent by U.S. Mail.

The owner was always at work before 08:00. He was retentive about the appearance of the premises. He would walk through the store's aisles picking up stray threads, lint, tags, or other debris. I would often find him spraying the sidewalk with a hose or shoveling ice/snow/salt. He was adamant that his sidewalks would be clear, clean, and presentable. He spoke derogatorily of neighboring stores and their appearance. 

Often, when I arrived in the morning, I would find him discomfited from his aisle walk. He would want some rack of clothes straightened, something restocked, the vacuum re-run, or a mannequin changed. He was present, interested, persistent, and proactive. His primary focus in life was the presentation, appearance, and success of that small store. 

I recall being appalled at some of the merchandise he ordered. I recall specifically a brand of trousers that was designed to be beltless. He wore them, raved about them, and sold them by the ton. He talked me into a pair once; I was not a fan. 

I thought he was pushing snake oil on the old gentlemen customers, but years later, I realized that he was meeting their desires, needs, and market point. They loved that oddity. Decades later, writing this post, I confirmed that the brand is still in business, making those beltless trousers. They seem more attractive to me now, and I am not sure why.

One of the more frustrating aspects of that job was being watched. The owners were persistently present and watching. When I would mark a pair of trousers for length, it was common for a coworker or one of the two owners to step in and check. The same was true when something was rung up at the register. They were attentive. I saw that as distrust in me, but reflecting, I came to realize it was their pride. They wanted everything to be right.

In another example, we offered free gift wrapping. Each purchase included the inquiry, "Can I wrap that for you?" The "yes" responses predictably increased in the holiday season. There was competition among the clerks (and owners) as to who could wrap most rapidly, but also whose packages looked the best. We creased the edges and added a bow; it was classy and personal in a way you cannot order from the internet.

I did not care for retail. It was monotonous and repetitious. I look back on my brief years there and wonder at the enthusiasm the owners and their managers exhibited. They found it possible to care about the appropriateness, fashion, and flair of each sale, right down to the socks. They remained engaged with each customer, day by day and year by year. 

Their customers were not destined for any catwalk or Vogue shoot. They were not models, millionaires, or moguls. They were ordinary people shopping for a classic blazer for the club, a new dress for an event, or the craziest trousers for the golf course. And those owners/managers found meaning in each sale.

The underlying theme of that experience, only realized years later through the benefits of retrospection, was pride. They cared what the store looked like, in and out. They worried about the freshness of displays, the organization of products, and the customer experience. They had pride.

That is pride in their product, profession, and appearance. They cared. As I ruminated recently on my post regarding Ignorance and Ambivalence (June 2025), I realized that they were the antithesis of IDK and IDK. Those retailers' focus was narrow: a small town, a specific merchandise category, and a specific clientele.

Their's was never a global impact. They were not influencers to millions or internet famous. But they did a job each day that they took pride in. They delivered for their clientele with humility and enthusiasm. They were inspirational and yet part of a now-extinct generation that persists only fossilized in my mind.

What would someone say of you in 40 years? Would you hope that they thought you cared and were proud of your efforts? I spoke recently to an attorney who lamented a perception that the law and lawyers have become "transactional." That is, strictly "business," or "revolving around cost and benefit." 

Certainly, every business must consider the transactional elements and analysis. Books must balance in order to remain in business. But, there seems to be too much focus on the short term, the now, and too little on the building of customer relationships, interaction, and the long run. That long run might include the community generally, future firm growth, and a thriving referral source. 

Is your day-to-day driven by pride in where you are, what you do, and how you are building the present and your future? Are you performing at your best, or at least focused on that goal? Pride and performance matter. That is worthy of consideration.