Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks: Preserving Purpose While Evolving
Oct 31, 2026
Last week, I saw an article about Purina Dog Chow celebrating its 100th birthday, I almost skipped over it. I thought, how much could a century-old dog food brand teach us about leadership?
As it turns out, a lot.
The article explained how Dog Chow has remained relevant for 100 years in a competitive marketplace. According to Nestlé Purina's chief marketing officer, Brent Gleckler, the secret isn't simply brand recognition or a long history. It's the brand's willingness to keep up with the times. That’s a lesson for everyone in leadership today.
One thing hasn't changed for Purina: the commitment to providing quality nutrition for dogs. But the people buying the food have changed. Their relationships with their pets have evolved. Their expectations are different, and the marketplace is more crowded. To remain relevant, Purina has continued to adapt its products, marketing, and connection with consumers.
How many organizations are so proud of their history that they forget to prepare for their future?
A Great Legacy Doesn't Guarantee Future Relevance
I've spent more than three decades in television leadership. I understand the power of a strong legacy. Public media has a proud history of serving communities through trusted journalism, educational programming, and stories that might otherwise go untold.
Those values matter. They should endure.
But the way people consume information has changed dramatically. Audiences have more choices than ever. Technology continues to reshape how people discover content, and younger generations may have entirely different expectations about how they engage with media. Unfortunately the love of Sesame Street doesn’t seem to be the strong connector to the brand for Gen Z that it is for Gen Xers.
We can't expect people to change their habits simply because we've been around for decades.
All leaders must continually ask: Are we reaching the people who need us? Are we delivering our mission in ways that meet today's needs? Are we anticipating what our audiences will expect tomorrow, or are we simply trying to preserve yesterday's business model?
The challenge isn't to abandon our purpose. It's to find new ways to fulfill it.
The same lesson applies to K-12 education, non-profits and for profits alike.
Tradition should inform the future, not prevent it.
Three Lessons from a 100-Year-Old Brand
Purina's story offers three valuable lessons for any leader trying to navigate change.
1. Protect Your Purpose, Not Every Old Practice
Purina hasn't abandoned its commitment to pet nutrition. Instead, it has continued to evolve how it serves pet owners.
Great leaders understand the difference between a core principle and a familiar practice. Your mission, values, and commitment to the people you serve may be enduring. The processes, programs, and strategies you use to fulfill that mission may need to change.
Your action item: Identify three things about your organization that must never change because they define who you are. Then identify one long-standing practice that deserves a fresh look. Don't assume it needs to disappear. Simply be willing to examine whether it's still serving you well.
2. Don't Confuse Familiarity with Relevance
One of the most interesting points in the article was the idea that a 100-year history can be both a blessing and a curse. People recognize the Dog Chow name, but that recognition also creates a challenge: the brand must continually demonstrate that it's keeping up with the times.
Organizations face the same dilemma.
We sometimes assume that because people know us, trust us, or have supported us for years, they will continue to do so. But familiarity isn't the same as relevance.
This requires curiosity and humility. It means asking questions without becoming defensive when the answers challenge our assumptions.
Your action item: Talk with three people who represent the next generation of the audience, families, customers, or employees you hope to serve. Ask what they value, what frustrates them, and what they wish your organization did differently. Resist the urge to explain or defend. Your job is to listen and learn.
3. Anticipate Change Instead of Waiting for a Crisis
The article highlighted an important distinction: successful brands don't just respond to people's needs. They work to anticipate those needs and create value people will continue to choose.
That is a leadership skill, not just a marketing strategy.
It's easy to respond when a problem becomes impossible to ignore. Forward-thinking leaders pay attention to signals before they become emergencies. They watch trends, invite different perspectives, encourage experimentation, and create room for people to test new ideas.
Your action item: Ask your leadership team this question: "What is changing around us that could significantly affect our organization over the next three to five years?" Choose one emerging trend and identify a small experiment you can launch in the next 30 days. Define what you want to learn and how you'll measure progress.
The Danger of Becoming Too Comfortable
Here's where leadership gets difficult.
Sometimes the biggest obstacle to change isn't a lack of resources, ideas, or talent. It's the belief that what worked yesterday will continue to work tomorrow.
Success can make us comfortable. Established routines feel efficient because we know them. Long-standing programs feel valuable because we've invested so much in them. And changing direction can feel like admitting that something we believed in is no longer working.
But adapting isn't an admission of failure. It's a recognition that the world doesn't stand still. That's the balance every enduring organization must find.
Your Leadership Challenge: What Needs to Evolve?
Before you head into another busy week, take 15 minutes to consider these four questions:
- What must endure? What is the purpose, promise, or principle that defines your organization and should remain constant?
- What has changed? How have the needs and expectations of the people you serve evolved?
- What are we holding onto? Which practices are we maintaining because they work—and which are we maintaining simply because they're familiar?
- What will we do differently? Identify one meaningful change you can test in the next 30 days, assign responsibility, and determine how you'll evaluate the results.
Then take the first step. You don't need a massive strategic overhaul to begin adapting.
Purina Dog Chow has spent a century reminding us that enduring success requires more than a recognizable name and a proud history. It requires a willingness to keep learning about the people you serve and to evolve as their needs change.
Great leaders don't choose between honoring the past and preparing for the future. They know how to do both.
Teaching an old dog new tricks is a great idea. In leadership, it may be exactly what keeps a great organization from becoming extinct.