doug smith training

When was the last time that you were frustrated in trying to learn something? If you can't remember, maybe it's time to learn something new -- something tough and challenging. Truly worthwhile endeavors are often struggles. The satisfaction comes not only in the final result, but also in the progress toward that final result. The best way to avoid a sad let-down once a goal is achieved is to enjoy the journey all the way thru. Celebrate your progress! Not so much that you feel finished, but enough so that you feel able. Celebrate progress, and then keep on progressing. As that beat poet and philosopher Harry X. Tudas once said, "Feel in the groove but continue to improve." -- doug smith

There is usually more glory (and satisfaction) in solving a problem than there is in doing the hard work ahead of time to prevent the problem in the first place. It means paying attention to risk, rather than dismissing it with some wildly optimistic notion that things will stay steady and true and always work out for you. That would be great, but have you considered the potential problems. Potential problems have a way of turning into actual problems. It takes less energy to prevent a problem than to solve it. Why wait? Fun or not, prevention works. -- doug smith

  Do you exercise? We all know that we should, and many of us should exercise more. We should exercise our bodies (those of us blessed with the ability to do so) and we should exercise our minds, too.  The mistake that I used to make was trying to do too much improvement too fast. If I hadn't exercised for a long time, I'd go right for a big day of exercise. All that got me was sore muscles and no new habits. I like the expression "take baby steps." Tackle a little bit at a time. Make incremental improvements. Start small and gradually gain more.  A little bit at a time physically, and also a little bit at a time intellectually. We're designed to get smarter, but we've got to work our muscles. Incremental improvement wins. It works for me. How about you? -- doug smith

  "It's so hard to find anyone who wants to work these days..." "I know what you mean, they just want to stand around and read their phones." "If you can find them at all..." Is that how it has to be? Is that how it feels? Everyone in awhile even a high performance leader needs a reality check. Maybe you agree, and maybe you don't, but here's a free reality offering for you: People don't want to work for you -- they want to work for fun and profit. Lead them TO that and they'll follow. We could make it more complicated, but it's not. What do you think? -- doug smith

As quantifiable as it may be, productivity is in the end, highly subjective. "How can that be?" "We define importance. We define what matters. You can decide how much is enough." "But it's all numbers. It's all measurable..." "Yes, once you've decided what matters. Once you've define the quality you want. None of the productivity matters unless the quality is there." "Well, my boss wouldn't agree with that very much." "How much do you like working for your boss?" "Not very much..." You might disagree. Many people do. But consider this: would you rather have exactly what you want, or a whole bunch of what you don't want?  I thought so. -- doug smith

  Feeling discouraged? Did that plan go wrong? Plans go wrong all the time. Make new plans and keep moving. You've got everything you need. -- doug smith

Make room for creativity and watch how much it grows. -- doug smith  

Create a great day no matter what comes your way. -- doug smith 

  How often do you participate in some refresher training? Those skills you acquired may be doing fine and yet as time goes on we smooth over the edges of our sharpness and take unexpected shortcuts that costs us quality. Refresh, re-learn, re-discover, re-apply: it's an important part of leadership development. We don't remember everything we learn, which makes refresher training so vital. Which of your skills could use a bit of refresh? -- doug smith

  Problems are not always caused by mistakes. Sometimes they're caused by good intentions. While it is great to begin with good intentions, what we do still matters more than what we intend. If a leader creates an unfair atmosphere out of the intention to help one particular team member, that could be a problem. If a leader intends to build a high performance team and yet supports without ever challenging team members, that could be a problem. Good intentions are not enough. Right actions matter more. -- doug smith

  How do you feel about the ego? Or, how does your EGO feel about the ego? A healthy self-image is essential. We do better when we feel better about ourselves. But, it's easy to take that too far. It's easy for someone to make critical decisions based only on the impact to the ego. That causes more problems than it solves. Silly ego. We shouldn't let it decide for us. It will learn to get over whatever is going on. Let that ego energize you, but don't let it polarize you. The ego is less dangerous when you see how funny it is. Laugh, and move ahead using your head. -- doug smith

  How do you feel about keeping score? In nearly every job (could it even be in every job?) we are forced to keep score. One metric after another lets us know whether or not we "measure up" to the company standards. Oh, sure they change, which makes it necessary to react and shift our efforts, but inevitably there are measurements to meet. People are going to keep score anyway no matter what we do so why not help them to count what matters most.  Measuring what does not matter is a waste of time and  profound aggravation. Negotiate what to measure before you get measured and see if it makes a difference. And if you don't have the freedom or influence to negotiate those measures, master them until you do.  -- doug smith

  It's an effort in refinement. As we move ahead, creating new forms of success, we face the challenge of what to keep and what to discard. What matters to some of us does not matter to all of us most of the time. If we're not careful, we end up discarding something that turns out to have been valuable, like for instance ethical standards and rules that prevent chaos from destroying everything in its path. Part of learning is differentiating the obsolete from the classic. One might look like the other, but they are not the same. Before you break a rule, maybe find out what it is holding together. -- doug smith

You've been working hard. You've been learning, growing, and evolving. Now is not the time to stop. Even as we master our work (which is never fully mastered, is it?) we find new opportunities. You're doing it right AND you can do it better. Discover how to do it better. It will be fun. -- doug smith

  What's the hardest job you've ever had? Factory work? Kitchen work? Military service? Law enforcement? Fire fighting?  Some jobs are tough physically, some are tough mentally, and some will tax you both ways. I have seen people be completely miserable in their jobs while other people were perfectly focused and prospering in the very same jobs. Those who were happy knew that no job needs to be forever and that all work has dignity in it. Everything we do can lead to something better to do when we always do our best.  I've had tough jobs and yet no matter how tough, there was always some joy to be found in the work. Fellow team members, friendly customers, understanding managers, meaningful work -- there is always something if you find it. You may need to look for the joy in the job, but once you do you can find it. When you find the joy in the job the work gets easier.  When you must work either way, why not make the work better? -- doug smith

  We like things short. To the point. Skip the filler. Brief is good, but sometimes deep is necessary. Deep takes longer at first, but eventually produces more -- when it's needed. -- doug smith

When was the last time that you bailed-out of a boring meeting? In-person meetings are tougher to bail-out on because everyone in the room will watch you leave. They'll be looking for a reason. They'll be criticizing your commitment. In a virtual meeting, it's easier. Especially if there are dozens of people in the meeting. You wouldn't think twice about leaving a meeting of a hundred people that turned out to be a droning infomercial for someone's product or service. I don't like the choice to bail-out, but it's not the worst choice. It's just a choice.  Finding myself in a boring meeting I gave it some thought and drew this chart. These aren't the only choices for reacting to a boring meeting, but they do give us a range of options. Influence Escape Partical Escape Disrupt Influence My first choice is to influence the meeting. Make it better. Help it get back on track. Even when we aren't in charge or leading the meeting we can influence the pr

Give disrespect the attention it deserves: none. That does not mean that you accept abuse, illegal, or unethical behavior. It just means that disrespect does not earn respect. I advocate starting from a position of respect. We do well to respect everyone from the start. Respect people in the way we greet them, treat them, and (when in competition) beat them. When someone does not return that respect, or when they begin from a place of disrespect, we don't have to get angry, but we do have to get active.  Often the fastest way to get active when confronted with disrespect is to disappear. Leave. Stop honoring that person with your presence if their only goal is to do you harm. Leaving isn't always possible or recommended when you or others are in danger. Then, opposition to that disrespect may be necessary. Not to create harm or revenge, but to create safety and honor. Is that easy? Oh, no. You already know that. Is it necessary? More than ever. How do we do it? By beginning --

Are you good at everything? Me, either. The list of people who are good at everything is short. That's OK. You don't need to master everything, but you DO need to master something. What are you working on to master these days? -- doug smith  

How resilient are you? Would your team say the same thing? So many times in life (and in leadership) I have been disappointed. Whether it was circumstances, scarcities, or troubling people, it felt easy to give up.  But even when the cards seem stacked against you -- even when defeat seems certain -- if you persist you will learn far more than you ever thought possible. I remember a time long ago when as a high school coach for a middle school basketball team, drawing a bunch of inexperienced and un-developed players and doing my best to coach them beyond their perceived weaknesses into an enthusiastic team capable of embracing of who we were -- rank underdogs who were surrounded by supremely talented teams who always won more games than us until the playoffs came, the games mattered more, and somehow we managed to hustle our way to a trophy. It was fun, but just before it became fun it was a lot of hard and sometimes discouraging work. When in your life do you remember overcoming the