Do you look at the big picture or are you focused on the details? This is an interview question I ask new hires for my dog-walking company. The correct answer is, both. But in agility, I feel like we lose sight of the big picture. And I don't mean the goal of a MACH or to be the #1 in our breed, we very easily lose sight of the picture that our dogs should be able to run any course with any appropriate challenges consistently, as long as we gave them good information. Not because we lied in that run trying to convince them there was a cookie at the bottom of the dog walk just so we could Q. That detail could derail your team from being as successful as you could be. It doesn't really help you play the long game with your dog and get everything you can out of their short lives to ensure the best runs each and every time you go to that start line.

Learn from the mistakes I made being short-sighted and Q-hungry. Learn about the sacrifices you can make today so that your team's future is better 6 months or a year from now.