In the software industry that I came from, there’s an expression “Eat Your own Dog Food!”. It means “Use the apps that you write”. This made a lot of sense in that only when a developer use their own apps, do they perhaps know the pain or joy of using it as a user.
In organisations and societies, this statement is quite apt too. If one organises events but do not take part in them, how would you know how well it was? How would you learn from it or benefit from it?
Beyond benefitting from it, it is also essential for other reasons. When we organise events for others without benefitting from them personally, then it is easy for our motivation to be pegged to the turn out of the event. We start to feel disheartened if the turn out is low or be elated if there are thousands.
If management or the working committee organise events or activities solely for others, and have little intention or wish to participate, then it can become work, a burden, a duty. Whereas if the comm organise events or activities that they themselves wishes to participate, and are interested in, then organising the event itself is rewarding already while the participation of the members come as a bonus!! 🙂
So, Eat Your own Dog Food!
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