Fighting a problem does not require us to fight other people. We don't need to agitate when we can collaborate. Fix the problem (which is likely caused by flaws in the process, design, or environment) and the people will be fine. -- doug smith
Has anyone ever solved a problem in a way that made things worse for you? Changes in job sites, changes in processes, software updates, family squabbles...with good intentions people rush solutions into play that seem to work for some, and yet badly disappoint others. We can do better than that. Think thru those solutions before launching that change. Get help from as many people as possible who will be impacted by that change. Until you consider the impact of your problem's solution on other people you haven't really considered that solution enough. -- doug smith
"She's filled with potential!" "There's no limit to his potential!" "They're nothing but unlimited potential!" It's both promising and frightening to be described as someone who is filled with potential. It means that a) the potential is still unfulfilled, and b) may NEVER be fulfilled. Still, aren't we ALL filled with potential. No matter what we have accomplished or failed to accomplish there is more ahead of us to be done. Potential might get you started. It might open a door or two. Potential will take you only as far as your discipline drives you onward. Whatever you're capable of still requires your action. What are you working on that is potentially awesome? -- doug smith
How do you feel about being cranky? Probably, cranky. It just leads to more crankiness. Yuck. We're better than that and our companies and organizations can be better than that, too. It's never to much to ask (and expect) us to: Keep our promises Provide excellent service Make customer transactions easy Smile Solve problems cheerfully Great service creates happiness. Bad service pushes crankiness. When service is poor, customers are cranky creating a cycle of needless agitation. We can skip all that. Let's just provide excellence services. -- doug smith
What happens when you've found what you've been looking for? If it was difficult, if you worked hard, if there were some challenges along the way you will likely be grateful and satisfied. How long will that satisfaction last? We are meant to be happy. We are meant to be fulfilled. But, we're not meant to stand still. Find what you're looking for and then keep looking. Growth is always ahead of you. -- doug smith
Even brilliant minds sometimes fall behind. Keep learning. I say it a lot, and yet can't say it enough: keep learning. That's a note to self as well as anyone else. What have you learned today? -- doug smith
Centered leaders ask the questions that others are afraid to ask. Questions like: What's your vision of success? Is the organization doing all that it can to support your development? What part of serving our customers do you enjoy the most? Are given enough choices in how you do your work? Do you feel connected in meaningful ways to other people here? Questions like that. Deep, thinking, honest, open questions. What would be a good question for you to ask today? -- doug smith
Have you ever smiled at a stranger, just to smile? Without getting creepy about it, try it some time. Almost every time that I've smiled first, the other person will smile back. It's a human reaction. We almost can't help it. Open friendliness and welcoming is hard to resist. A random smile packs a surprising amount of joy. Why not be happy? Happy leaders very often create the happiest teams, and happy teams very often produce the best results. -- doug smith
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "not so good" and 10 being excellent, how good a listener are you? If you think you are a ten, good for you! You must be very fun to talk with! And if like most of us you are something less than a 10, that's OK, too. We can always learn how to listen better. It is a skill so highly valued and yet so seldom practiced that the opportunity to listen better is limitless. We don't have to follow every voice we hear but we can certainly learn a lot by listening. Let's level-up our listening today. Let's find out what we can learn... -- doug smith
It's not years that make you smart, even though time can help. It's not age that develops wisdom, although heaven knows as we get older we should gain some wisdom. If you've never heard a profound piece of wisdom expressed by a child, then I suggest more conversations with children. They are often astounding in their wisdom, unfiltered as it may be by cultural expectations. Wisdom knows no age. Wisdom knows no limits. What have you learned today? -- doug smith
When you are working on solving a problem, how long do you search for a solution? How about for the cause? Would it surprise you to know that most people stop their search too soon? Our need to find the cause of a problem can cause us to stop the search too soon. We reach for an incomplete or uninformed solution and then -- the problem persists. Problems resist lazy answers. Sometimes the answer to timing the search is to keep on searching. -- doug smith
Are you a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Or, maybe you're something in-between, a kind of situational-thinker. Given the choice between negative and positive, I've found that positive thinking does a better job of keeping me on track and helping me feel better. Positive thinking is great. Positive thinking is uplifting and filled with hope. But, positive thinking is not enough. Positive thinking only works if you put in the work. That's why I work so hard, how about you? -- doug smith
Bumping into our limitations is irritating, isn't it? It's a distant, but vivid memory I have of eagerly raising my hand in class because I knew the answer, only to discover that my answer was incorrect. Ouch. It was one of those small things that felt like a big thing. I often call myself a "recovering know-it-all" because the more I learn the more I realize the vast amount of things that I do not know. The first answer that comes to me is not always correct. There is always more to learn. We're all small at some level. Knowing that level leads to growth. -- doug smith
Change, while necessary, can also provoke fear. Solving problems requires change. Given a choice, it's easy to shy away from the fear of change. We hold onto our problems when change causes fear. Stay centered, manage those emotions, and reach for courage instead of fear. What if you DID solve that problem by changing the process, the situation, or the interpersonal dynamics? You can. Fear might just be the excitement you feel from the shift of the solution. -- doug smith
Judging is a joy buster. No matter how good it feels at first, the whiplash outlasts the guilty pleasure. Judging inevitably points to the personal spots we share with those whom we judge. If your job is to be a judge, by all means keep judging. But if your job is anything else, pause long enough to learn what's going on. I'm still waiting for perfection, how about you? Don't we all need a little slack from the rampant judging that surrounds us? -- doug smith
It takes courage to tell the truth because it's not always popular and it's often risky. Knowing that the truth could get you into trouble will steer some people into lies, which once told tend to perpetuate to the point where the teller doesn't even remember that it's not true. That's not for you. That's not for high performance, centered leaders. While it does take guts to tell the truth, it also takes curiosity, diligence, and interrogation to discover the truth. If it's easy to tell lies, it's even easier to believe them. Asking is more powerful than telling because it helps to uncover the truth, to discover the truth. Our courage increases when we rely on truth. To rely on truth requires identifying it fearlessly. What do you think? -- doug smith
Even when it looks like corruption is everywhere, we do not have to let it rule. Leaders need the courage to resist corruption -- no matter how small and no matter how large and no matter for how long. When in doubt tell the truth, play fair, and act with integrity. Anything else will always catch up to you. -- doug smith
