doug smith training

Appreciation for a smile leads to more smiles.

Smile!

-- doug smith

Wisdom does not judge.

-- doug smith


We're all good at judging. I judge all the time - not as much as I used to, though. My goal is to stop judging altogether because it just doesn't give me what I want. People do not respond to it. People do not change their behavior. Judgement just makes us bitter because it doesn't work.

I'm not saying that there is no place for judging. Justice is (sadly) as important as peace. You cannot have one without the other if judgment is needed and lacking. We just don't gain anything from being our own personal judges. The bitterness remains, and so does the cause of the reaction.

I'm working instead on maintaining unconditional positive regard. People will make mistakes, sometimes even on purpose. Some people will try to take away things of value. They just don't know, or they just don't care. Will my judgment change them? Most certainly, no. Will my unconditional positive regard change them? Probably not. But then I won…

Remember, the root cause of a problem might be in more than one garden.

-- doug smith



Have you ever solved a problem multiple times? The same problem? It looked solved, it felt solved, and yet just when you least expected it the problem returns bigger and badder than ever.

Until we get to the root cause of a problem, the symptoms might be slightly eased up, but the problem remains. When we come up with solutions, it's worth it to ask, many times, "are we sure we've found the root cause of the problem?"

How sure are you? How is it that you are sure? Are there any additional hidden causes?

Keep digging.

-- doug smith

Focus on your goals with relentless persistence. When you do you become a force of nature.

-- doug smith

A goal worth working on will produce high levels of learning. If that learning doesn't help you with this goal, it's guaranteed to help you on another. Keep learning. Learn constantly.

-- doug smith

Are you searching for more possibilities? Are you generating more ideas? There could be more possible ways to solve your problem than you will ever think of, so keep thinking, keep exploring. Possibilities equals power.

-- doug smith

If your assumption isn't helpful change your assumption.

-- doug smith

We all make assumptions, even when we know it doesn't help. Where do these assumptions come from? They come from old data, from old experiences, from filters so clogged we fail to see what is true. But the good news is that since assumptions originate from our own thinking, we can control that. We can change our thinking. We can change our assumptions.

Let's choose assumptions that lead to success. The people on our team WILL support us. Our leadership skills ARE growing. Our customers DO have reason to like our service.

If your assumption isn't working, if it just isn't helpful, change your assumption.

-- doug smith

The goal isn't goals; the goal is happiness. And, the strongest path to lasting happiness is thru service.

-- doug smith

Are your goals big enough, wild enough, ambitious enough?

If a goal doesn't make you nervous or giddy it's not big enough. Go big.

-- doug smith