doug smith training

If you work long enough you'll notice something that will give you a strong perspective.  Every year there is a new problem that is capable of completely destroying you. Solve it and move on. No reason to surrender now. -- doug smith  

  As a customer, you'd know what you want. That's worth keeping in mind. Sometimes things might seem good for business but be bad for customers. If money is the only bottom line we find ourselves at the bottom quickly. It takes courage to say no to something that is bad for your customer but profitable for your business. People with that kind of courage are people worth doing business with. -- doug smith

I've got an unfinished project. Do you? It can be a motivator. It can get me going. Having an unfinished project prods me toward action. It feels motivating to always have at least one unfinished project. But, hey, do finish your projects.  Note to self: That project you're thinking about? Get it done. -- doug smith

We are best served by serving first. Without thinking about what's in it for us, we get more out of it by first giving. It that sounds amazing, it is. Amazingly effective. -- doug smith

Volume without quality is noise.  More is not always better. Quality always matters. What do you think? -- doug smith  

What does your ideal music sound like? Not your taste in music, not even what you usually listen to, but rather the music that you make.  Maybe it's with your voice, or an instrument, or maybe the music you make is with your hands in the form of care, or maintenance, or healing. There is music in that. We all have music inside. A tempo, a beat, a pace, a tone. Can you hear your music? Does your effort lead to a flow where you can lose yourself in the art of what you do? Leaders can find that flow. Each leader has music inside. Maybe the key is to find the harmony. Who else hears the music, and how beautiful can it become? Play your music. Keep practicing. Let it flow. -- doug smith  

"What are we going to do?" "How do we fix this?" "What ideas do you have?" "I'm stuck!" We all get stuck. I've had times when I was sure that every idea in my head was wrong, wrong, wrong and useless. A bad idea is not useless, it's a start. It's a place to begin. Start with your bad ideas and watch how quickly they improve. Maybe your idea just needs to grow. -- doug smith  

Here we are. Whatever is in front of us. Whatever challenge we ponder. Now is the time. Every moment makes a difference, especially this one. -- doug smith  

It's in our differences that connections are made. -- doug smith  

Leadership is hard. Challenges peck away at us, demanding response. I don't have all of the answers (who does?) but this might help a little. A little advice to myself that I am happy to share. It takes clarity to know where you are going, creativity to inspire new ways to get there, compassion to help those who are in you way, and courage to stay the course even in the face of opposition. Which of those strengths do you excel in the most? What's your secret to leadership success? -- doug smith  

Leadership, no matter how much it is intended to be permanent, is temporary. A day comes when the direction changes, the dance shifts, and the once stable boss is lost. Lost in direction, lost in relevance, lost in the times. What if we kept our leadership portable? Leadership could be fluid, flexible, and responsive as it remains centered. As circumstances change, our leadership must flow with it while finding the strength of a foundation without the chains of stagnation. That's not easy but it's part of the art of leadership. Partly science, partly art, leadership requires us to know when it's time to stand and know when it's time to flow, and yes even know when it's time to go. Portable is more powerful than authority if authority is not portable. We don't need to ask for change in order for change to change us.  -- doug smith