doug smith training

As a recovering know-it-all I remember making many mistakes, trying to solve someone else's problem. I've learned that maybe, just maybe, I can help, but it is highly unlikely that I'll solve that problem. The problem with solving someone else's problem is that it may not fit into their schedule. Or their plan. Work together. Collaborate. Share. If the solution emerges between you, let them take credit for the brilliance of the solution. You'll never run out of problems to help on, unless you try to solve them all on your own. -- doug smith  

Have you ever been in a conversation so intense that you question the health of the person who is arguing with you? Most of us have. In that moment, when our nerves are frayed and our anger is rising, it is ever so easy to say the wrong thing. It's tempting to ask the wrong question. When we push against someone's dignity the reaction will not be positive. You know that, I know that, and yet we've done it anyway. Here's a note-to-self: stop, pause, breathe, evaluate. What would be the best thing to say or do? Because...if you ask someone what's wrong with them they will likely find something wrong with you. And they might not be wrong about that... -- doug smith  

People work on bad goals far too often. It sounds good, it reaches for some vague feeling of satisfaction, and yet the goal is a poor match for who they are or where they are. How you form your goals matters.   Get the goal right before you work on it to save yourself lots of aggravation. Keep it simple: action word, result, and time. Keep it ambitious but possible. And check to make sure that what you want is what the goal will give you. Otherwise, that poor goal is a waste of time. -- doug smith 

What we work on matters. What we choose to focus on not only matters but it's also completely up to us. What's your focus today? This week? This month? I'm learning to limit my focus to what matters most, one goal at a time. How about you? Better goals create better lives.  That's what we want, and deserve. -- doug smith

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