How to Pet a Porcupine

I discovered something new in a staff meeting a few weeks ago, and that is that you can pet a porcupine without getting hurt. I have never actually pet a porcupine, but I was told it is possible without a follow-up trip the hospital, if you do it correctly.

Porcupine

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/arthur_chapman/3986448936/

If you want to pet a porcupine without getting stuck by a bunch of quills you don’t run up and startle it.  You don’t quickly scoop it up into your hands and give it a big hug.  If you want to pet a porcupine you have to develop trust with it.  First, you hold out your hand to see if it wants to come near and sniff you. Only after it sniffs you can you pet it, but you have to do it a certain way starting at the head and petting down.  To pet a porcupine any other way could potentially hurt…a lot.

Some people are a lot like porcupines. They have quills, and they will stick you if you handle them the wrong way.    You know the kind of people I am talking about, they tend to be a bit grouchy, pessimistic, standoffish and avoid personal contact, have a tendency to complain and point out the bad in a situation, etc…  These people tend to be a lot like porcupines.  If you run up and startle them you’re going to get hurt.  If you try to pressure them into doing something you’re going to get hurt.  If you cross their path in a way they don’t like, start looking for the nearest hospital.

To pet one of these porcupines requires developing trust just like a real porcupine. No, holding out your hand to see if they sniff you is probably not the best way to go about it, but spending time getting to know them is.  Learning about their perspective, their past, their priorities can give you insight in how best to go about working and getting along with them.  Taking the time to building trust with can go a very long way, and save you a lot of pain in the end.  Just as I am sure petting a real porcupine is an amazing experience, I know that getting someone who is a bit prickly on your side can be just as fulfilling.

Also, for those who are pastors of churches and have opportunity to work with porcupines, the reality is that they are also sheep in need of a good shepherd. They can’t simply be dismissed. You can’t just steer clear of them like you might a real porcupine in the wild. You have to learn to pet them.  You have to learn to lead them. So you might as well do it the right way, and save yourself some pain.

Posted on
Category: Leadership

Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.

Leave a Reply to Sportium Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

365,664 thoughts on “How to Pet a Porcupine”

  1. https://sportium.net.co/
    A plataforma Sportium Colombia e um casino e casa de apostas esportivas online que opera com total legalidade sob a licenca da Coljuegos, decorrente da uniao entre CIRSA e Ladbrokes a partir de 2007. Disponibiliza ao usuario um ambiente completo e seguro onde os jogadores colombianos podem desfrutar desde apostas ao futebol ate maquinas caca-niqueis e cassino com dealers reais com dealers reais, tudo no mesmo site.

    Reply

  2. https://sportium.net.co/
    A plataforma Sportium Colombia e um casino e site de apostas esportivas digitais que funciona com plena legalidade mediante licenca da Coljuegos, decorrente da uniao entre CIRSA e Ladbrokes desde o ano de 2007. Disponibiliza ao usuario um site robusto e confiavel onde os usuarios da Colombia tem acesso desde palpites no futebol ate slots e casino ao vivo com atendentes reais, tudo no mesmo site.

    Reply

  4. https://sportium.net.co/
    Sportium Colombia trata-se de um cassino e site de apostas esportivas digitais que atua dentro da lei com a autorizacao da Coljuegos, resultado da alianca entre CIRSA e Ladbrokes desde o ano de 2007. Apresenta uma estrutura confiavel e abrangente onde os jogadores colombianos podem desfrutar desde palpites no futebol ate slots e cassino em tempo real com atendentes reais, tudo em um unico lugar.

    Reply

  7. https://sportium.net.co/
    A Sportium Colombia constitui um cassino e site de apostas esportivas digitais que funciona com plena legalidade com a autorizacao da Coljuegos, decorrente da uniao entre CIRSA e Ladbrokes a partir de 2007. Disponibiliza uma plataforma completa e confiavel onde os jogadores colombianos podem desfrutar a apostas em futebol ate slots e cassino em tempo real com atendentes reais, tudo em um mesmo sitio.

    Reply

  11. Коллеги, кто ищет реальные кейсы по SEO в Екатеринбурге, обратите внимание на этот материал. Там рассказывают про опыт ITB Company: аудит, подбор ключей, ссылочную стратегию. Понравилось, что есть цифры — интернет-магазин одежды увеличил трафик на 150%, а консалтинговая компания — рост заявок на 200%. Почитайте: https://admtog.ru/stati/kak-seo-prodvizhenie-s-itb-company-pomogaet-biznesu-ekaterinburga-rasti/

    Reply

  12. Для качественного и долговечного восстановления внешнего вида вашей машины воспользуйтесь услугами ремонт сколов и трещин.
    Выбор подходящих материалов играет ключевую роль в процессе устранения сколов.

    Reply

  15. Irecently wrote about how Jane decided to try Paybis to
    shift her money from her bank into crypto and then straight into her trading account, and honestly, her whole story turned out way more entertaining than anyone thought.

    Jane isn’t your regular crypto newbie. Random detail: she collects tiny
    vintage globes and has exactly 27 of them lined up behind her desk.
    Another random thing is that she can solve a Rubik’s cube in under 40 seconds.
    So when she discovered Paybis, she approached it with the
    same energy — fast, efficient, and determined.

    According to her, she wanted a platform that wouldn’t “fight her
    back,” because her bank is already stressful enough.
    Paybis ended up being perfect: super user-friendly onboarding, easy deposit, and she was able to convert her
    bank funds into crypto in literally minutes. She laughed saying it
    was easier than ordering sushi.

    Once the crypto hit her wallet, she jumped straight into her trading platform —
    everything happening instantly. And because she’s Jane, she turned it into a personal
    speed-challenge. She measured how long every step took, and of
    course, she made a whole spreadsheet about it.
    Fun fact: Jane has 38 spreadsheets for her hobbies.

    What surprised her most was how Paybis didn’t overwhelm her with complicated menus.
    She likes things simple — after all, she once returned a coffee machine because it had “too
    many buttons.” So the clean process from bank →
    crypto → trading felt like a win.

    She casually dropped that anyone wanting to try the same flow should check the
    link inside this comment, but she didn’t want to
    make a big deal of it. Just said it might be helpful.

    Overall, Jane’s whole experience using Paybis was refreshingly easy, surprisingly fun,
    and very “Jane-style” — structured, quirky, and full
    of little experiments.

    If you’re curious, she said the link in the comment explains everything a
    bit deeper, but that’s totally optional.

    Reply

  18. Howdy! I know this is kinda off topic but I was
    wondering if you knew where I could locate
    a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as
    yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!

    Reply

  22. Если вы ищете надежное решение для улучшения внешнего вида глаз, обратитесь к специалистам, предлагающим верхняя блефаропластика цена пермь.
    Процесс блефаропластики обычно занимает от 1 до 2 часов и проводится под местной или общей анестезией.

    Reply

  34. Откройте для себя уникальные возможности программа омоложения организма, которая поможет вернуть вашей коже молодость и энергию.
    Благодаря данной программе можно существенно улучшить общее состояние, повысить жизненный тонус и снизить видимые проявления старения.

    Reply

  35. Ребята, отличная статья для тех, кто хочет системно подойти к продвижению сайта в Екатеринбурге. Автор разбирает и SEO, и контекст, и соцсети, и email-маркетинг. Есть блок про актуальные тренды: мобильная адаптация, голосовой поиск, видеоконтент и ИИ. Очень структурированно, рекомендую: https://bioice-krasnoyarsk.ru/stati/prodvizhenie-sajtov-v-ekaterinburge-put-k-uspehu-v-cifrovom-prostranstve/

    Reply

  40. Тоже закинул деньги 8 числа, а трека ещё нет. Обычно всё ровно, но сейчас у них там походу проблемки небольшие. https://dietfree.ru Сегодня на мыло пришло письмо с новостью что заказ отправлен и номер трека который бьёться:good: пока всё норм идёт, со мной связь поддерживают через скайп, игнора не было, когда получу отпишу за качество вес и тдмало того что неприятный опыт общения в гоме так и не денег не товару..

    Reply

  49. Этот обзор позволяет по-новому взглянуть на вещи, на которые обычно и так смотрят. Мы упоминаем факты, которые мало что меняют, и события, значение которых трудно определить, но они всё равно здесь.
    Вот – телефон дешево

    Reply