doug smith training

What makes a team member seem smart? Is it their knowledge? Is it their experience? Or, are they simply gifted? High performance leaders work to build teams that include people smarter than they are. They are out there, why not bring them to your team? If you think that you are the smartest person on your team you are either wrong, OR not finished recruiting.  -- doug smith

Some people take a vitamin every day. Some people read a passage from a favorite book every day. Positive daily habits support a successful life. Set a goal at least once a day and then achieve that goal. It builds the kind of momentum that leads to wonderful things. And you do want wonderful things, right? -- doug smith  

What's the hardest job that you've ever had to do?  It might be hard, it might not be fun, it might consume far too much time, but hard work builds skills that otherwise go neglected. Hard work teaches patience, tenacity, fortitude, resilience. Hard work build character. When it gets to be too easy, it's time for another challenge.  Hard work will always pay off in one way or another. What are you working hard at now? The payoff will be worth it. -- doug smith  

It's not automatic. It's not free. The impact will stay with you as long as you sustain the habit. The discipline to develop discipline will multiple your benefits. Work hard, work steady, and keep your promises. It all grows from a foundation of discipline. -- doug smith  

How does it feel when you miss on a goal? Frustrating? Disappointing? Sure, it is troubling to miss on a goal that once seemed so certain, but is it the worst that could have happened? What did you learn? How did you grow? What mistakes can you avoid in the future? There is much to be gained from every goal, even those that we do not achieve. You won't achieve every goal that you set, but the attempt is always better than regret.  -- doug smith

Highly structured? Wildly improvised?  Harmonic, or distorted? Fast or slow? Analytics help, but there's nothing quite like a touch of the poet in solving problems. The deep pondering, the pedantic piecing together, the frantic splash of passion. Whether or not they know it every problem solver has a touch of the poet. Are you in touch with your touch of the poet? -- doug smith 

Other people can help, but achieving your goals is up to you. -- doug smith  

Are you on course to achieve your biggest goals? Is your plan in motion and working? Of course! Will you need to make some adjustments along the way? Of course! If your goal really matters -- to you with some intensity, you will do what you need to do in order to achieve that goal. If it doesn't really matter, there's almost nothing to be done. You need the joy. You need the spark. You need the course of action that lights you up so much that it lights up your path to success. The reason for your goal is as important as your goal. Why does your goal matter? Why now? Why you? Does that level of focus really make a difference? Of course! -- doug smith  

Last week I had some fun, with two different classes, in an activity to re-invent games with no losers. The only other condition was that each game also had to be fun. As it turns out, competition is not necessary in order to have fun. The creativity won the day as games developed without any losers. Imagine that. Playing a game without disappointment. Playing a game of cooperation, of collaboration, of mutually beneficial outcomes. It's possible. It's fun. And, there are no side-effects. The games we play form us in ways we may not expect. If we can invent more games, more situations, more relationships where everybody wins imagine what a world that would be. -- doug smith

If you think about something that needs to be done but don't do it now, when will you do it? Now would be good. Now is the time. -- doug smith  

I often ask my classes "What's the difference between conflict and problem solving?". The leading answer is "competition." Conflict is a problem with opposing solutions. Two opposing goals. Competition. That can still be resolved, but it may need to be managed. Recognizing what you've got is a good start.  -- Doug Smith