Twelve Noon Sharp: What My Mother's Street Dogs Taught Me About Consistency

My mom fed the street dogs every single day. Milk in the morning. Then, at twelve noon sharp, rice, carrots and beef, all cooked together. Beef, because it was the cheapest meat in Mumbai in those days.

Here is what amazed me as a boy. Nobody called those dogs. Nobody whistled. There was no bell. Yet every day, like clockwork, they would come out from their hiding spots in the shade, right on time for the meal. They timed themselves. They knew.

To this day my mom keeps her routine. When I go back to Mumbai, I tag along with her to see if the animals are on time. They always are.

What the dogs knew

Those dogs were not trained. Nobody taught them to come at noon. They came because my mom showed up at noon. Every day. Rain or heat. Good mood or bad mood. The food was always there, and she was always there.

That is consistency. And consistency is what turns a promise into trust.

Today I walk up to 35 dogs at a time, off-leash, in a 175-acre forest in Quebec. People ask me how they come back. The honest answer is my mom's answer. I show up the same way every day. Same energy. Same path. Same calm. The dogs don't come back because of one good walk. They come back because of hundreds of walks that felt the same.

The same is true with people

We like to think trust is built in big moments. A great speech. A grand gesture. A big apology. But most trust is built at twelve noon on an ordinary Tuesday, when nobody is watching and you show up anyway.

Think about the people you trust most. Chances are they are not the most exciting people in your life. They are the most consistent. You know what you will get from them. You don't have to guess.

Now think about a leader who was great one day and impossible the next. You probably spent more energy reading their mood than doing your work. That is what inconsistency costs a team. People stop coming out of the shade. They wait to see which version of you shows up.

What this means for leaders

Your team is watching the same things those dogs were watching. Not your words. Your pattern. Do you show up when you said you would? Do you react the same way to good news and bad news? Is your door really open, or only open on good days?

This is the C in my PACK Framework: Presence, Assurance, Consistency and Keep steady. Consistency is the quiet one. It doesn't look impressive. But without it, the other three don't last.

A simple practice

Pick one small thing and make it your twelve noon. A check-in with your team at the same time every week. A walk with your partner after dinner. A call to your mother on Sunday. Something small enough that you will never skip it.

Then do it. Again and again and again.

You don't need to call people to you. Show up on time, every time, and they will learn to come.

Hats off to my mom. She taught me this long before I had a word for it.